The White Sox broke out all their weapons for Game 1 of Chicago’s first World Series in 46 years.
They seized a 1-0 series lead over the Houston Astros with a 5-3 victory at rollicking U.S. Cellular Field on Saturday night as old reliable Joe Crede showed up with his bat and his glove and the relief staff announced its presence with electrifying authority.
Crede, for whom big hits in big moments are becoming the norm, broke a 3-3 tie with a fourth-inning home run. The 27-year-old third baseman then preserved the lead with acrobatic fielding plays in the sixth and seventh after the Astros got the potential tying run to third base.
The relievers, who had pretty much been on vacation during the five-game American League Championship Series, took it from there. Neal Cotts and Bobby Jenks combined on two scoreless innings, striking out five of the seven hitters they faced in relief of winner Jose Contreras.
Both were dealing in high-octane gas, and Jenks’ powder-river punch-out of veteran slugger Jeff Bagwell to end the eighth inning with runners on second and third was high drama.
“That was good Chicago baseball,” Sox manager Ozzie Guillen declared, and the juiced-up crowd of 41,206 could not have agreed more.
Crede’s third game-winning hit of the postseason came off reliever Wandy Rodriguez, who had replaced the puzzlingly ineffective Roger Clemens.
Clemens has 341 career wins, or 58 more than the White Sox’s playoff rotation. But the Sox treated the Hall of Fame-bound 43-year-old like a shopworn relic from an old-timers’ game. They worked counts, fouled off pitches and made him throw 54 times over two innings before he left with a strained hamstring and a 3-1 deficit.
The Astros eventually tied the score, sparing Clemens a loss in what might have been his final game.
The Sox? They’ll keep playing for a while.
