Vibes were high on the South Side of Chicago 20 years ago today, as the White Sox earned the victory in a thrilling World Series Game 1 and looked to take a commanding lead in Game 2. The contest saw a pair of former All-Stars going at it in a fun pitching matchup, with Mark Buehrle on the hill for the White Sox against the Astros’ Andy Pettitte. The White Sox got to one elite pitcher in Game 1 and looked to make it twice in a row and take a commanding 2-0 series lead.
Contrary to Game 1, it was Houston that got off to a quick start in this contest. Morgan Ensberg’s home run to lead off the top of the second gave Houston their first ever World Series lead at 1-0. The roles remained reversed, and this time it was the White Sox who needed to answer. They did so in the bottom of the second, when back-to-back hits by Aaron Roward and A.J. Pierzynski scored on a hit by Podsednik and a sacrifice fly by Juan Uribe. Unfortunately, the White Sox lead didn’t last long, and the Astros tied up the game the very next inning on a sacrifice fly by Lance Berkman.
Both starters worked an easy fourth inning, but the Astros got Buehrle on the ropes in the fifth. A leadoff double by Brad Ausmus and a two-out hit by Willy Tavares put runners at the corner for Berkman. The Astros slugger came through once again, ripping a 1-1 offering into the corner to score a pair and give the Astros a 4-2 lead.
The White Sox bats couldn’t get much going against Pettitte, but a high pitch count led to his exit after six innings. Dan Wheeler took over in the seventh with Houston up by two. Wheeler retired Joe Crede to start the inning, but Uribe doubled to put a runner in scoring position. After a strikeout of Scott Podsednik, Wheeler was just one out from getting out the inning, but he couldn’t put away Tadahito Iguchi, and walked him with two outs. Now facing Jermaine Dye with two men retired, Wheeler worked the count full before throwing a fastball inside that glanced off the knob of Dye’s bat. The home plate umpire ruled that the ball hit Dye in the hand, and he was awarded first base. Dye later admitted that the ball did in fact hit his bat, not his hand, but it was a big break for the White Sox.
Paul Konerko delivered in the clutch once again
With the bases loaded and two outs in a crucial situation, Astros manager Phil Garner went to his setup man, bringing in righty Chad Qualls from the bullpen to face Paul Konerko. Konerko jumped on a first-pitch fastball from Qualls, driving one into the left field seats for a grand slam in a moment that will always be remembered by all White Sox fans. With a 6-4 lead, the White Sox went to their bullpen as well, bringing in dependable righty Cliff Politte for the eighth, who got through the inning with no trouble.
The White Sox took the 6-4 lead into the ninth, and turned to flamethrowing closer Bobby Jenks to seal the ballgame. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Jenks’ usual dominance in the ninth. Jeff Bagwell led off the inning with a single and Chris Burke drew a walk with one out. Jenks retired Brad Ausmus for the second out, but the runners advanced to second and third, and the Astros went to their bench. Jose Vizcaino, known for his walk-off hit in Game 1 of the 2000 World Series with the Yankees, came up and did some first-pitch damage of his own, ripping a base hit to score the tying runs.
Scott Podsednik calls game for White Sox
Game 2 was a new ballgame, and the Astros turned to their dominant closer, Brad Lidge, to keep the game tied and send it to extra innings. Lidge quickly retired Juan Uribe, but then fell victim to another magic moment from an unexpected source.
Scott Podsednik, who didn’t hit a single home run in the regular season, got a 2-1 pitch over the plate and drilled one into the right-center field seats to win the game. The White Sox had a 2-0 lead in the World Series, and this moment would go down in history. Podsednik’s bat was sent to Cooperstown and displayed at the Hall of Fame, and the seat the ball landed in was painted a different color than the rest of the seats in the stadium until the most recent renovations.
Moments like this are what made the 2005 White Sox feel like a team of destiny. But they knew the work wasn’t finished yet. Now, the World Series would shift to Houston with the Astros desperately needing a win to have some life in the series, and another all-star pitching matchup in tow for Game 3. Join us on Saturday as we recap 2005 World Series Game 3!