SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 23: AJ Blubaugh #69 of the Houston Astros pitches in the sixth inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on September 23, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jack Compton/Getty Images) Getty
HOUSTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 15: Hunter Brown #58 of the Houston Astros pitches in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Daikin Park on September 15, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) Getty
Somehow, someway, with an 81-81 record, the Houston Astros came out on top in the AL West and punched their ticket to October on Sunday afternoon with a win over the Athletics .
Being the No. 3 seed in the playoffs earns them a three-game series with the last Wild Card team in the American League, which happened to be the Chicago White Sox , so the Astros will take on the White Sox in a three-game set (all games in Houston) beginning on Tuesday afternoon.
On Monday, September 28, just one day before the series opens up, the Astros announced a few pieces of pitching news, which shed light on their rotation plans for the series.
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GettySEATTLE, WASHINGTON – SEPTEMBER 23: AJ Blubaugh #69 of the Houston Astros pitches in the sixth inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on September 23, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jack Compton/Getty Images)
On Monday afternoon, Astros manager Joe Espada revealed to the media that Tuesday's Wild Card game will be a 'bullpen' game for Houston.
Well, a few hours after that report, it was announced that AJ Blubaugh will get the start on Tuesday, and it's unclear how long he will pitch as the so-called 'opener'.
However, in a piece of better (and more promising) news, Espada also revealed that ace starter Hunter Brown will take the ball for game two of the series against the White Sox.
@brianmctaggart ( MLB .com reporter) also wrote about the Brown news:
" Hunter Brown will start Game 2 for Houston, a source told MLB.com"
The news JUST dropped that Hagen Smith will start game one for the Chicago White Sox, but manager Will Venables also noted that he believes game one will be more of a bullpen game for the White Sox as well.
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GettyHOUSTON, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 15: Hunter Brown #58 of the Houston Astros pitches in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Daikin Park on September 15, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
Hunter Brown remains the ace of the Houston Astros, but the club likely doesn't want to run him out there on 3/4 days' rest when he just pitched over the weekend.
Brown finished the 2026 regular season with a 3.19 ERA over 20 starts with 124 strikeouts.
As for AJ Blubaugh, he has pitched strictly out of the bullpen this season, and over 64 games pitched and 96 innings, he posted an ERA of 3.66 with 94 strikeouts in 2026.
It feels like a very evenly matched series between the White Sox and Astros, and one that should be very exciting!
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This article was originally published on HEAVY
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