Ten Down, One to Go

I have to make this quick, I was up so late last night, I want to try to get a quick nap before game time.

Roy Oswalt doesn't seem so tough to me, the Sox were able to send 11 men to the plate in the fifth, scoring five runs to take the lead. Here's how it happened:

# Joe Crede: Home run to right; 4-1.
# Juan Uribe: Single to left.
# Jon Garland: Strike out swinging.
# Scott Podsednik: Single to right, first and second.
# Tadahito Iguchi: RBI single to center, scores Uribe, first and second; 4-2.
# Jermaine Dye: RBI single to center, scores Podsednik, first and second; 4-3.
# Paul Konerko: Fly out to center.
# A.J. Pierzynski: Two-run double to center, scores Iguchi and Dye; 5-4.
# Aaron Rowand: Walk.
# Crede: Hit by pitch, bases loaded.
# Uribe: Fly out to center.

For our part, I thought Jon Garland was struggling. So much so, that I was hollering for Ozzie to bring in El Duque in the 4th. After he got the lead he settled in and was effective.

Outstanding performance by the buulpen. The Astros got no hits after the eighth inning. I figured the game was lost twice, once whe Luis Vizcaino came in and again when Damaso Marte came in. I have give them both props for keeping the Astros from crossing the plate.

When Geoff Blum hit the homer that gave the Sox the lead, I was so shocked I forgot to react. It deserved the same kind of reaction I had for Konerko's and Podsednik's homers in Game 2, but I was either too surprised or too tired to give it the respect it desrved.

Heads up managing by Ozzie to have Mark Buehrle ready to go in case Marte got in trouble, which he did. Sure, he's supposed to start Game 6, but Ozzie knew that if we won last night, there likely wouldn't be a Game 6. Good move.

The game would have been over in 9 if the umpires didn't give the Astros a free homer in the fourth when Jason Lane hit a ball that should have remained in play according to the crazy ground rules at the Astros' park. Fox TV has delighted in rehashing over and over every little break the Sox have received in the playoffs, yet when this glaring error occurred, they barely mention it.

The Astros have been complaining aout MLB's ruling that they have to keep their roof open. The Astros want to close it so they can increase the crowd noise. From what I heard last night, I doubt it would have made much difference. In many critical game situations, Astros fans were virtually silent. There were also a number of times I was able to clearly hear chants of "Let's go White Sox". That's fine for a midseason midweek game, but to be able to hear cheering for the visiting team during a World Series game is unheard of. Astros fans should be ashamed.

Up next,
Freddy Garcia vs Brandon Backe
I like our chances to close it out tonight.

Go Sox!