Stony Brook’s Anthony Kay earns win as White Sox sweep Astros in wild-card series

The Long Island lefty got out of a fifth-inning, bases-loaded jam, and Chicago went on to win its first playoff series since 2005

Stony Brook’s Anthony Kay emerged as the winning pitcher Wednesday as the Chicago White Sox beat the Houston Astros 7-3 to sweep their American League Wild Card Series.

The White Sox led 4-3 in the fifth inning when Kay came out of the bullpen with two runners on and one out.

The 31-year-old southpaw, in his first appearance in an MLB post-season game, retired MVP candidate Yordan Alvarez on a deep fly ball to left field. Kay then walked Isaac Paredes to load the bases, but ended the threat by getting Jose Altuve to fly out to right.

An inning later, Chase Meidroth hit a three-run homer off Astros reliever Bryan Abreu that put the game away.

The win gives Chicago its first postseason series victory since it swept the Astros in the 2005 World Series. Before this season, the White Sox had lost 100 or more games three years in a row.

The White Sox move on to play the Cleveland Guardians in a best-of-five American League Division Series. Game 1 is Saturday in Cleveland.

Kay, a Ward Melville High School graduate, pitched at UConn and was the New York Mets’ first-round pick in 2016. He pitched for Toronto and the Chicago Cubs before a brief stint with the Mets in 2023.

Kay spent 2024 and 2025 with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in Japan before signing a two-year deal with the White Sox. He was a dependable regular in Chicago’s starting rotation this season, compiling a 10-9 record in 31 starts.

While this October is Kay’s first foray into the MLB playoffs, he pitched in the post-season in Japan and helped the BayStars win the championship.

“We weren’t really playing great… we kind of just got hot at the right time,” Kay told GLI last December just prior to inking a contract with the White Sox. “We had a really good September leading into the playoffs, and then we were able to win the whole thing.”

Not the only Patriot in the playoffs

Steven Matz, who also graduated from Ward Melville and played for the Mets, pitches for Tampa Bay, who play the Yankees in the American League divisional round; Game 1 is Saturday night.

After returning from an August stint on the injured list, Matz pitched 11 innings over eight appearances with a 1.59 ERA. Matz pitched for Boston in the playoffs in 2025, giving up no runs and striking out two over two innings in two appearnaces.

During the Mets run to the World Series in Matz’s rookie year in 2015, the lefty made three starts in the playoffs.

Yet another Ward Melville grad, starting pitcher Ben Brown, reached the playoffs this season with the Cubs, albeit on the injured list. Brown was 4-2 with 1.85 ERA this season for Chicago, but hasn’t pitched since June.

The Cubs were eliminated Wednesday from the playoffs by San Diego.

_{Top: Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Anthony Kay (18) delivers during the fifth inning in Game 2 of baseball’s American League Wild Card Series against the Houston Astros, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)}