With their pitching rotation lined up perfectly, they were supposed to have an edge early in this series, but the AL Central champs were the ones who looked weary in the early going.
Similar styles carried the Angels and White Sox this far: Both rely on solid starting pitching and a deep bullpen, and they like to manufacture runs with bunts and aggressive baserunning.
That doesn't mean they can't play long ball, though.
Anderson led off the second inning with his third homer of the postseason -- he had a team-best seven RBIs in the first round.
Then the Angels went to what they do best. Adam Kennedy's hit-and-run single was followed by Figgins' sacrifice bunt, putting runners at second and third in the third.
Orlando Cabrera's slow bouncer scored Steve Finley, and third baseman Crede hesitated before throwing to first, allowing Cabrera to reach on an infield single.
Vladimir Guerrero bounced back to the mound, and Contreras tried for a double play instead of going home to get Kennedy. Cabrera's high slide bothered second baseman Tadahito Iguchi, who overthrew first base, and Los Angeles had a 3-0 lead on Guerrero's first RBI of the playoffs.
Crede homered in the bottom half, and Pierzynski concluded a feisty at-bat with a two-out RBI single in the fourth, cutting it to 3-2.
Former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Jim Tracy was hired on Tuesday as the Pittsburgh Pirates' manager, AP learned from a source close to the team who requested anonymity.
Tracy, 49, was the front-runner from the start of the Pirates' search last week because of his long-standing ties to Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield, with whom he worked in the Montreal Expos' organization in the 1990s.
Tracy beat out the only two known candidates for the job, former Oakland Athletics manager Ken Macha and Atlanta Braves coach Fredi Gonzalez. Tracy replaces Lloyd McClendon, who was fired on Sept. 6 during his fifth consecutive losing season and was replaced for the rest of the season by bench coach Pete Mackanin, who was not considered for the job on a permanent basis.
Tracy managed the Dodgers from 2001 until the injury-riddled team finished 71-91 this season. The record was their second-worst since they moved from Brooklyn in 1958.
He finished with a 427-383 record, guided Los Angeles last year to its first division championship since 1995, and had only one losing season in five, but resigned last week after falling out with general manager Paul DePodesta.
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