The Astros posted their first winning record in 1972 and made the playoffs for the first time in 1980. The Astros made their first World Series appearance in 2005 but were swept by the AL Chicago White Sox. In the following decade, the team embraced sabermetrics and pioneered new analytical technologies during the early 2010s, transforming from a middling franchise into one of MLB's most dominant and successful clubs, winning over 100 games in three straight seasons, although they were central targets of a major cheating scandal. The Astros won the 2017 World Series, their first championship, against the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Having been defeated by Boston the following year in the 2018 ALCS, the Astros returned to the World Series in 2019, losing to the Washington Nationals in seven games despite putting together a franchise-best regular season.