The White Sox have entered that busy intersection that could dictate their fortunes.
If they make the right turn Friday night at Fenway Park, they will win their first American League Division Series with their eighth consecutive victory dating back to Sept. 28. They also will gain plenty of perks heading into the AL Championship Series.
But if they make a wrong turn, their current seven-game winning streak would end and they could be on a rocky path.
Given the recent postseason history of the Boston Red Sox, and with ace Curt Schilling lurking, the White Sox might be inclined to use as many resources as possible to complete a three-game sweep in this best-of-five series.
“That’s the hardest one to win, the closing game,” catcher A.J. Pierzynski said before Thursday’s workout at Fenway. “They know it could be the end of their year, and they’ll give it all they can to try to get back in it. The last one is always harder. Each victory in a series gets harder. The last one was hard, but this one will be even harder.”
A victory Friday would give the Sox their fourth eight-game winning streak of the year. But the last time the Sox won seven straight, they lost four straight games that gradually cut their 9 1/2-game lead in the AL Central as they fell out of a rhythm of solid starting pitching and timely hitting.
And Boston’s Game 3 starter, Tim Wakefield, who will oppose Freddy Garcia, is no stranger to pitching well in win-or-else situations.
As a rookie with Pittsburgh in 1992, Wakefield pitched a five-hit complete game to beat Atlanta 3-2 in Game 3 of the NLCS after the Braves took a 2-0 lead.
In Game 6, Wakefield pitched another complete-game victory (13-4) to force a Game 7. The righty’s knuckleball was so baffling to the Braves that switch-hitter Terry Pendleton batted right-handed against Wakefield in his final at-bat.
Wakefield beat the White Sox 7-4 at Fenway on Aug. 12. He blanked them for six innings and didn’t walk a batter in 6 2/3 innings.
Also waiting in the wings in the event of a Boston victory is Schilling, who would start Game 4 on an added day of rest after beating the New York Yankees on Sunday for the AL wild-card playoff berth.
“The last time we clinched, it was on the road,” manager Ozzie Guillen said. “Hopefully we can get this thing done as soon as we can. I would like to go back to Chicago, but you never know what’s going to happen here.”
The White Sox lost two straight at Fenway in August before beating Boston and Schilling in a makeup game Sept. 5.
But the White Sox have reaped the benefits of clinching the AL Central early enough to align their rotation accordingly for the ALDS.
A victory Friday would give the White Sox ample time to set up for the ALCS as they did for the ALDS. Although Jon Garland hasn’t pitched since Sunday, he and the rest of the starting rotation would be lined up perfectly for either the New York Yankees or the Los Angeles Angels.
Jose Contreras would be in line to pitch Games 2 and 6, the latter game on an extra day of rest because of two off-days.
“The most important thing you can do is get it done early in a series so you can get ready for the next one,” center fielder Aaron Rowand said. “And more important, lining up your pitching. [Friday] is a big game for us, just as big as [Games 1 and 2]. I wish we were playing now.”
During the first two games of this series, the White Sox have outscored the AL’s top offense 19-5, outhomered the Red Sox 6-0 and are 8-for-15 with runners in scoring position.
But their major league-best 52-29 road record is offset by Boston’s major league-leading 54-27 home record and the experience last season of overcoming an 0-3 deficit to earn a World Series berth.
“It’s still Fenway,” Pierzynski said. “They’re not going to roll over or quit. You can’t let up. They have experience and have come back from this situation before. They have come back from worse than this and won.”
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mgonzales@tribune.com
