2005 World Series recap

The White Sox entered the 2005 World Series having posted the American League's best record and cruised through the first two rounds, and they left with their first championship since 1917, when "Shoeless Joe" Jackson roamed the outfield for Chicago. The White Sox swept the defending champion Red Sox in the AL Division Series then took care of the Angels, 4-1, in the AL Championship Series. The Astros, meanwhile, made the postseason as the National League's Wild Card before advancing to the World Series for the first time in franchise history.

The White Sox took an early lead in Game 1 on Jermaine Dye's first-inning homer and Juan Uribe's two-run double in the second, but the Astros climbed back by scoring one run in the second and two more in the third. However, Houston lost starter Roger Clemens in the second inning due to a sore hamstring, and Chicago regained the lead in the fourth on Joe Crede's solo homer. Crede made several excellent defensive plays in Game 1, helping the White Sox capture a 5-3 victory.

Game 2 looked like it might go the Astros' way as Houston carried a 4-2 lead into the seventh inning. But Paul Konerko stepped up in a big way, blasting a grand slam off reliever Chad Qualls to give the White Sox a two-run lead. That margin would quickly be negated, as Bobby Jenks gave up two runs and recorded only two outs in the ninth. But up came outfielder Scott Podsednik, the unlikely hero who crushed a 403-foot walk-off homer to right-center field off Astros closer Brad Lidge. That gave the South Siders a remarkable 7-6 win and a 2-0 series lead as they departed U.S. Cellular Field for Minute Maid Park.

Houston claimed a 4-0 lead by the fourth inning of Game 3, but the five-hour, 41-minute affair was far from over. The White Sox scored five runs in the fifth inning against Astros starter Roy Oswalt, only to see Houston tie it up in the eighth. The game stretched on into the 14th inning, when the Astros sent reliever Ezequiel Astacio to the mound, one of the World Series-record 17 pitchers used by both teams in the game. With two outs and nobody on, Geoff Blum hit the game-winning homer against his former team. The White Sox tacked on another run that inning, taking a 7-5 lead they wouldn't relinquish as Chicago left-hander Mark Buehrle recorded the final out, becoming the first pitcher in World Series history to start and earn a save in consecutive games.

After a few higher-scoring contests, a pitchers' duel broke out in Game 4 between Houston's Brandon Backe and Chicago's Freddy Garcia. The two right-handers exchanged zeros through the first seven innings, following a formula that had worked so well as the White Sox won 99 games in the regular season. Finally, the decisive run came with two outs in the eighth inning against Lidge. Pinch-hitter Willie Harris singled to left and reached third on a sacrifice and a groundout. Up came Dye, the eventual Series MVP, who grounded a single up the middle -- his third hit of the game -- to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead. With a little help from Uribe, Jenks saved Chicago's eighth straight victory to complete the sweep.

With that, the White Sox finished off the 19th four-game sweep in World Series history, giving the organization its first title in 88 years. Manager Ozzie Guillen's squad finished the postseason with an 11-1 record, tying the White Sox with the 1999 Yankees for the second-best postseason winning percentage of all time behind only the 1976 Reds, who went 7-0.

Path to the World Series
ALCS: Chicago over Los Angeles (4 games to 1)
NLCS: Houston over St. Louis (4 games to 2)
ALDS: Chicago over Boston (3 games to 0); Los Angeles over New York (3 games to 2)
NLDS: St. Louis over San Diego (3 games to 0); Houston over Atlanta (3 games to 1)

Managers: Ozzie Guillen, CWS; Phil Garner, HOU

MVP: Jermaine Dye, CWS: .438, 1 HR, 3 RBI