Pierzynski 2005 WS Game 6 Walk-Off Single vs Astros

Lore & Background

The Chicago White Sox finished the regular season with the best record in the American League at 99–63. The 2005 White Sox led their division wire to wire and only lost one game in the postseason. After starting the season on a tear, the White Sox began to fade in August, when a 15+1⁄2 game lead (for the AL Central division title) fell all the way to 1+1⁄2 at one point. However, the White Sox were able to hold off the Cleveland Indians to win the American League Central Division by six games, sweeping the Indians in three games on the season's final weekend. In the American League Division Series, the top-seeded White Sox swept the defending champion Boston Red Sox. The American League Championship Series began with the second-seeded Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim winning Game 1, but a controversial uncaught third strike in Game 2 helped the White Sox start a run and win Games 2–5, all on complete games pitched by starters Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, Freddy García, and José Contreras, clinching their first American League pennant since 1959. Manager Ozzie Guillén then led the White Sox to a World Series victory, their first in 88 years. Slugger Frank Thomas was not on the post-season roster because he was injured, but the team honored his perennial contributions to the franchise during Game 1 of the Division Series against the Red Sox when he was chosen to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. The White Sox completed the 2005 postseason with an 11-1 record. The White Sox also won the last 5 regular season games and thus closed out the 2005 campaign winning 16 of the last 17 games played and 19 of their last 22 (all 3 losses by just 1 run), a record finish unmatched in all of MLB history.

In Their Own Story

The lights at Comiskey hummed their low, electric buzz. The stands were a sea of navy and white, thousands of voices layered into a single, sustained roar that you felt in your sternum before you heard it with your ears. The smell of hot dogs and cut grass hung in the October air, mixed with the metallic tang of a city on the edge of something it had almost forgotten. Pierzynski stood in the batter's box, catcher's mitt still heavy on his left hand, and the whole ballpark seemed to lean forward. One swing. One single. And then the noise—God, the noise—erased everything that had come before. Forty-seven years folded into one night, one play, one man in a navy jersey who had not been the star all season and now would be remembered forever for this single, unglamorous, perfect moment.

Reader's Guide

The White Sox swept the Astros in four games. Game 1: White Sox 5, Astros 3. José Contreras pitched seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits for the win. Bobby Jenks earned the save. Game 2: White Sox 7, Astros 6. Paul Konerko hit a grand slam in the seventh inning, and Scott Podsednik hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth. Game 3 and Game 4 details are not provided in the source article beyond the fact that the White Sox won the series 4–0.

Did You Know?

• The White Sox won their first World Series in 88 years, ending the Curse of the Black Sox.
• Scott Podsednik hit a walk-off home run in Game 2 despite not hitting a single home run during the regular season.
• The Astros were making their first World Series appearance in 44 years of play.
• As of 2025, this is the most recent postseason series won by the White Sox.
• The Astros' appearance marked the only time they made the World Series as a National League team.