Worth another look: 5 White Sox games that mattered this season
The biggest games are yet to come, and they'll get started on Oct. 7 in the American League Division Series.
The White Sox are looking forward to their second straight trip to the playoffs. Before they get there, let's review five games that really mattered during the regular season:
April 14
There were a staggering six no-hitters in the first six weeks of the season. There's been only two more since MLB started checking pitchers for foreign substances on June 21, one being a combined no-hitter by the Cubs' Zach Davies, Andrew Chafin, Ryan Tepera and Craig Kimbrel.
Chafin was later traded to the Athletics and Tepera and Kimbrel were sent to the Sox in separate deals.
White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon nearly had a perfect game vs. the Indians on April 14. He settled for the second no-hitter of the season after hitting Roberto Perez with an 0-2 pitch on the foot with one out in the ninth inning.
"It's going to be hard to top this one," Rodon said. "Baseball's pretty humbling. It'll eat you up, spit you out. And sometimes it'll reward you."
May 4
One game earlier, the Sox lost to Cleveland and they lost Luis Robert to a torn hip flexor that sidelined the skilled center fielder for more than three months.
Pressing on, the White Sox beat the Reds 9-0 on May 4 and took over the top spot in the AL Central.
The Sox have been in first place every day since and they clinched their first division title since 2008 with a win at Cleveland Thursday.
August 12
When looking back on the major-league season as a whole, this was arguably the best game of the year.
The White Sox traveled to Iowa to face the Yankees in the "Field of Dreams" game. Actor Kevin Costner set the proper mood by walking out of the corn before the first pitch, followed by Sox and Yankees players.
In a thriller, Tim Anderson hit a walk-off 2-run homer in the bottom of the ninth after New York rallied to take an 8-7 lead with 4 runs in the top of the inning.
"The fans came to see a show and we gave them a show tonight," Anderson said.
August 20
The White Sox are going to have to win some big games on the road when the playoffs start.
That's what they did in late August, and it was Anderson stepping up in the clutch again.
Playing the Rays at Tampa Bay, the Sox tied the game at 5 on Anderson's solo home run in the ninth inning.
Anderson broke the deadlock with an RBI single in the 11th and the White Sox won 7-5.
August 27
It wasn't looking good early when the Cubs jumped on Sox starter Dallas Keuchel for 6 runs in the first inning at Guaranteed Rate Field.
It was Yasmani Grandal's first game back after missing nearly two months with a knee injury.
The White Sox's catcher got right back into the flow, and he helped erase the early deficit with a pair of 3-run homers and a 2-run double.
The Sox stormed back for a 17-13 win and they wound up going 5-1 vs. the Cubs for the season.