In many respects, the 162nd game of the 2026 White Sox season played out like those of recent years.
Their 4-2 victory against the Rockies had zero stakes for either side, many reserves filled out the box score and the announced home attendance for the season clocked in at less than 2 million fans (1,986,419).
The difference was that the nearly 30,000 fans on hand Sunday pushed the full-season figure to the Sox’ highest total since 2022, the only season in the last 15 they’ve eclipsed 2 million fans. Rather than sticking around just in case some lesser-known members of the roster might toss free T-shirts into the stands, fans remained to roar in support of a Sox team headed to Houston for the franchise’s first postseason action in five years.
It’s easy to imagine a darker context in which an injured pitcher carries one of the highest Q scores on the roster. But the cheers that crested as Mike Vasil raised a fist to the crowd — his other arm around third baseman Miguel Vargas, the Sox’ best player — offered a warm feeling about what this team has become.
‘‘The way the fans have come out and supported these guys and given them energy, to watch that back-and-forth grow throughout the season has been amazing,’’ manager Will Venable said.
The Sox won only 84 games, but they did so in front of fans that reasoned 75 victories was an aspirational goal and repaid the unexpected success in enthusiasm.
Could the Sox have won more? They certainly thought so and rued a slide in early September that cost them the American League Central title.
They also had 11 walk-off victories and often strung together pitching plans that would have made MacGyver nervous. Plus, no team that has tied itself spiritually to the papacy the way these Sox have can consider themselves starved of blessings.
‘‘I don’t think anyone saw the kind of success that we had, and I think it was really fun to be a part of,’’ said left-hander Anthony Kay, who earned the victory Sunday.
The Sox also are boarding their flight to Houston hoping for a reset. They went 34-33 after the All-Star break, allowing the Guardians to catch and overtake them for the division title and dealing them a sting they still were shaking off Sunday.
‘‘We were pissed,’’ shortstop Colson Montgomery said. ‘‘We had a lot of vocal people. Everyone was just like, ‘We’ve got important games coming up.’ ’’
Perhaps no one better represents the Sox’ quest for an October rebirth than Montgomery. He socked 31 home runs and was dominant during the 18-10 May that launched the Sox onto the national scene, but he is craving a clean slate after a poor second half. He also set MLB’s single-season strikeout record, about which he admitted, ‘‘You don’t want your name to be a part of.’’
The Sox dropped five of seven games this season to the Astros across two series that featured some of their lowest moments, strategic moves that Venable openly second-guessed.
‘‘We were scuffling as a whole,’’ veteran outfielder/designated hitter Randal Grichuk said, referring to the Sox losing three of four games to the Astros in Houston from Aug. 31 to Sept. 3. ‘‘We match up well with them.’’
Are the Sox capable of a deep playoff run? The uncertainty of their rotation suggests otherwise, but that would assume anyone not aboard their flight to Houston understands how and why they have been good all season.
‘‘Our focus is just on us,’’ designated hitter Andrew Benintendi said. ‘‘Everybody in here knows what we can do.’’
Would knocking off an 81-81 Astros team be a monumental accomplishment? No. But it’s doable.
It would be the Sox’ first victory in a postseason series in 21 years. And it would be fun, which is the quality that brought nearly 2 million fans to Rate Field this season.
