White Sox make bizarre challenge in MLB playoff game vs Astros: What happened?

Kristie Ackert, USA TODAYTue, September 29, 2026 at 10:41 PM UTC

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Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable went for a challenge in a strange situation in Game 1 of the American League wild card series against the Houston Astros.

After Chicago's Sam Antonacci grounded out to Jose Altuve in the fourth inning, Venable argued the Astros second baseman violated the shift rules, which require infielders to be on the dirt when the pitch is delivered. The video shown on the broadcast made it hard to tell if Altuve's cleat was touching the grass. The call stood.

"So that comes from the replay – (Bryan Johnson) and the replay center who is aware of all those things and looking closely at all those things. With two challenges, we talked about it before the game, before the series, that we want to go ahead and be aggressive. And so he noticed something immediately, that Altuve was on the grass to start," Venable said after the game. "The problem with it is it's just a really hard call to get overturned, but worth it with two challenges there. So I thought it was a really good challenge, really good pickup by BJ, and it just didn't go our way."

The rules, part of the 2023 package that also brought the pitch clock and bigger bases, require two infielders on each side of second base, with all four on the infield dirt when the pitch is delivered. Teams can't slide a fielder onto the outfield grass for a better angle.

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Players adjusted quickly. There were 26 violations in the rule's first season, two in 2024 and one in 2025.The penalty got tougher along the way. It started as an automatic ball. Since 2025, if the violating fielder makes the first play on the ball, the batter gets first base, runners advance and the fielder is charged with an error.

According to MLB's official count, there were only two challenges in the 2026 regular season for shift restriction violations.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: White Sox make bizarre challenge in MLB playoff game vs Astros: What happened?

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