On this day in 2005, the World Series was played in the state of Texas for the first time in big league history. The White Sox boarded the plane and headed to Houston after a late-inning victory in dramatic fashion in Game 2. With a World Series championship within reach, the White Sox knew they had to keep their foot on the gas and not let up in Game 3. That game would feature a battle of 2005 All-Stars, as Jon Garland took the bump for the White Sox against the Astros’ Roy Oswalt.
The Astros seemed to enjoy being at home, and their offense got off to a red hot start. A leadoff double by Craig Biggio in the first led to an early lead for Houston on an RBI single by Lance Berkman. Houston added on in the third, taking advantage of a Juan Uribe error to plate a pair of runs on hits by Biggio and Morgan Ensberg. Jason Lane’s solo home run in the fourth put the White Sox down 4-0 early, and they’d need to get things going quick to have a chance at staying in the ballgame. Fortunately, the luck began to shift.
A nightmare fifth inning for the Astros tilted World Series Game 3 in White Sox direction
After four dominant innings, Roy Oswalt’s fifth was nothing short of a nightmare. Joe Crede led off the fifth with a home run to get the White Sox on the board, and the Sox followed with a pair of singles by Juan Uribe and Scott Podsednik to put runners on with only one out. Tadahito Iguchi and Jermaine Dye followed with back-to-back singles to score two more, and all of a sudden, it was a one-run game. After a Paul Konerko fly out got Oswalt just an out away from keeping the lead, A.J. Pierzynski delivered in the clutch, doubling home a pair and putting the White Sox up 5-4. Oswalt would then get out of it, but it took 45 pitches, five runs, and six hits to get through the fifth, and the Astros suddenly found themselves trailing.
Things stayed quiet through seven, and Jon Garland gave way to the White Sox bullpen for the bottom of the eighth. Cliff Politte retired the first two Astros, but couldn’t put away Ensberg and surrendered a walk. Lefty Neal Cotts came in to face the left-handed hitting Mike Lamb, but he too couldn’t put the inning away, walking Lamb and putting two runners on for Jason Lane, who had already homered in the ballgame. Ozzie Guillen went to Dustin Hermanson to get out of the jam, but Lane delivered once again, doubling and scoring the tying run in the eighth. ALDS hero Orlando Hernandez came in to work the bottom of the ninth in a tie game, hoping to send things to extra innings. Hernandez struggled with his command, walking the bases loaded with two outs, but struck out the dangerous Ensberg to escape and send Game 3 to extras.
Another unlikely hero steps up for the White Sox
Extra innings became a back and forth battle of the bullpens, with both sides having multiple opportunities on offense and squandering them. The White Sox entered the 14th inning with only one man left on the bench, Geoff Blum, and on their last reliever. A leadoff single by Jermaine Dye was quickly erased on a double play, and the White Sox sent Blum to the plate needing some kind of spark. For Blum, it was his first and only at-bat of the 2005 playoffs, but that didn’t matter. Blum jumped on a 2-0 pitch and ripped a line drive into the right field seats to give the White Sox the lead in the 14th inning. They’d add an insurance run on a bases-loaded walk by backup catcher Chris Widger, and the White Sox took a 7-5 lead to the bottom of the inning.
A walk and an error got runners on the corners with two outs for the Astros, and Ozzie Guillen made a bold move. With the bullpen empty and needing one more out, Guillen turned to Game 2 starter Mark Buehrle for his first career save attempt. Buehrle threw just three pitches, getting Adam Everett to pop out to end the game, and the White Sox were just one win away from their first World Series championship since 1917.
At nearly six hours, 2005 World Series Game 3 was the longest World Series game in baseball history at the time. That record has since been broken, but it was yet another historic moment in a season full of them for the White Sox. The improbable World Series run was just one game from completion, with Game 4 scheduled for the next night.
Would Freddy Garcia and the White Sox complete the sweep? Find out tomorrow when we recap 2005 World Series Game 4.