The Chicago White Sox are one win from the ALCS, and nobody saw this coming
Two years after losing 121 games, Chicago has swept the Astros in the Wild Card and gone up 2-0 on Cleveland, and now Game 3 at Rate Field could send them to the AL Championship Series for the first time since 2005.
In brief
The White Sox are one win away from their first ALCS trip in 21 years
Two Octobers ago, the Chicago White Sox lost their 121st game of the season. On Wednesday afternoon at Rate Field, they play Game 3 of the American League Division Series with a chance to clinch a trip to the AL Championship Series. The gap between those two sentences is one of the more disorienting things in recent baseball history.
Just two years removed from a 121-loss season, the White Sox finished off the Houston Astros in the Wild Card round to secure their first postseason series win since 2005, a drought exceeded in MLB by only the Cincinnati Reds. Then they went to Cleveland and did it again.
The White Sox erupted for three runs in the sixth inning to stun the Cleveland Guardians 4-3 on Monday, taking a 2-0 lead in the American League Division Series. The No. 2-seeded Guardians entered that game as 1.5-point favorites over the No. 6 White Sox, but fell at home once again with a decisive Game 3 coming up on the road.
Game 1 at Progressive Field set the tone. Munetaka Murakami hit a two-run homer, five Chicago pitchers combined for a three-hitter, and the White Sox beat Cleveland 3-0. Game 2 was messier but the result was the same. White Sox starter Gavin Williams was dominant through his outing, but Chicago's offense came through when it needed to. Cleveland has scored just three runs on seven hits through the first two games of the ALDS, recording only three hits in Game 1 and four hits in Game 2.
The Guardians now face elimination in Game 3 at Rate Field after dropping the first two games at Progressive Field. Another loss would end Cleveland's season and send Chicago to the AL Championship Series.
The pitching matchup Wednesday favors caution over confidence. Cleveland sends RHP Daniel Espino to the mound, while Chicago counters with LHP Sean Newcomb, who posted a 6.00 ERA in his postseason start. The White Sox beat Newcomb's shaky number in Game 2 anyway, and their lineup has not stopped producing.
Chicago became the first team in MLB history to clinch the playoffs after three straight seasons with 100-plus losses. That alone would be the story of the year in most seasons. But they did not just sneak in. A two-decade playoff drought is over, snapped by a team so young it doesn't seem to know the ceiling for a club one year removed from a third-straight 100-loss season isn't supposed to be this high.
The franchise's last trip to the ALCS was 2005, the year they swept the Los Angeles Angels and then swept the Houston Astros in the World Series. The last time Chicago clinched a playoff series before this run, on Oct. 26, 2005, it was in the same ballpark, then called Minute Maid Park, also against the Astros, and it ended with owner Jerry Reinsdorf celebrating with his team in the aftermath. Now a completely different generation of White Sox is three outs from putting 2005 in the rearview for the next round, too.
Despite these improvements, Chicago lost their American League Central division lead they held much of the 2026 season in late September to the Guardians, which also prevented them from having a first-round bye. That slight became motivation. The Sox entered the Wild Card as the six seed, beat Houston in two straight, and now lead the two seed.
The situation in the rest of Wednesday's playoff schedule is worth watching as well. The Tampa Bay Rays, who lead the Yankees 2-0 in their ALDS, play Game 3 at Yankee Stadium at 8 p.m. ET on TBS/TruTV. In Game 1, Drew Rasmussen carried a no-hit bid through 7 2/3 innings as Tampa Bay beat New York 1-0 behind a Jonathan Aranda home run off Gerrit Cole. Max Fried gets the ball for New York in Game 3. The Yankees are the home favorite but their season is on the line.
In the NL, the Dodgers and Braves play a decisive Game 4 in Atlanta at 6 p.m. ET after Los Angeles took Games 1 and 3 and Atlanta won Game 2. And in the NFL, the injury watch around Baltimore sharpened this week. According to NFL Media, Lamar Jackson is dealing with an ankle sprain that gives him only an 'outside chance' to play in Week 5 against the Atlanta Falcons. Jackson could miss multiple games depending on how his rehabilitation progresses, though the injury is not considered long-term or surgical. He got his ankle rolled up on the Ravens' final play of the first half during last week's win over the Tennessee Titans and did not return. If Jackson cannot suit up, Baltimore will turn to backup Tyler Huntley.
Back in Chicago, the 4 p.m. first pitch comes with the South Side knowing exactly what is at stake. Rate Field will be loud. The Guardians will be desperate. And the White Sox, who genuinely had no business being here according to every projection from March, will take the field as the team trying to close it out at home.
Braden Montgomery, who doubled in two runs in the sixth inning of Game 2, singled in the go-ahead run. His name wasn't in anyone's ALDS preview a week ago.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
