Should the White Sox ever choose to gather for a “season savers” team picture, Joe Crede and Mark Buehrle should be front-row center.
Crede’s ninth-inning RBI double gave the Sox a 2-1 victory over the L.A. Angels on Wednesday night in Game 2 of the ALCS at U.S. Cellular Field. Buehrle pitched a five-hitter as the Sox squared the best-of-seven series by scoring a runner who probably shouldn’t have been on base.
Pablo Ozuna was running for A.J. Pierzynski, who had hustled down to first base on a dropped third strike that catcher Josh Paul didn’t seem to drop. But umpire Doug Eddings ruled that Paul didn’t catch the ball cleanly, and instead of an inning-ending strikeout, the Sox had a runner at first.
After Ozuna stole second, Crede lined a pitch from Kelvim Escobar into the left-field corner, and Ozuna scored easily as the sellout crowd erupted.
It was Crede, you might recall, whose 11th-inning homer on Sept. 20 gave the Sox a 7-6 victory over Cleveland when the Indians were closing fast in the division race.
The 41,013 fans on hand grew increasingly pensive as Game 2 wore on, sensing that a loss might mean no more baseball on the South Side this year, given the Sox’s history of struggles in California. They would have had to win two games in the land of Disney this weekend to bring the series back to Chicago, and nobody liked the odds of them doing that.
Meanwhile, they complicated matters for themselves by wandering the bases like confused tourists for the second straight night. But in the end they got the break that mattered, and they capitalized.
It’s getting to be the story of their season.
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ALCS schedule Series tied, 1-1
Best-of-seven series airs on WFLD-Ch. 32
Friday: SOX (Garland) at L.A. Angels (Lackey), 7 p.m.
Saturday: SOX (Garcia) at L.A. Angels (Santana), 6:30 p.m.
Sunday: SOX at L.A. Angels, 6:30 p.m., if necessary
Tuesday: L.A. Angels at SOX, 7 p.m., if necessary
Wednesday: L.A. Angels at SOX, 7 p.m., if necessary
