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White Sox even AL series, Cardinals get upper hand

American League

Joe Crede gave the White Sox what is sure to go down as one of the most disputed victories in playoff history on Wednesday.

Given a second chance when plate umpire Doug Eddings called strike three -- but not the third out -- Chicago beat the Los Angeles Angels 2-1 to even the best-of-seven American League championship series at a game apiece.

In a sequence as bizarre as any imaginable on a baseball field, A.J. Pierzynski struck out swinging against Angels reliever Kelvim Escobar, appearing to end the bottom of the ninth inning with the score tied at 1.

Escobar's low pitch was gloved by backup catcher Josh Paul -- he appeared to grab it just before the ball would have hit the dirt. And behind him, Eddings clearly raised his right arm and closed his first, signaling strike three.

Pierzynski hustled and took off for first base anyway, just in case. Sure the inning was over, Paul rolled the ball out to the mound with the Angels already coming off the field, so Pierzynski was easily safe.

Then everybody stopped, including the umpires and the incredulous crowd. When they let Pierzynski stay at first, Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia came out of the dugout to argue vociferously.

"When he rings him up with a fist, he's out," Scioscia said.

The umpires huddled and upheld the call after a delay of about four minutes.

When it looked as if play was about to begin again, Scioscia came out again and Eddings consulted with third-base umpire Ed Rapuano.

The call stood, and the White Sox capitalized.

Pinch-runner Pablo Ozuna quickly stole second, and Crede lined an 0-2 pitch into the left-field corner for a game-winning double.

Mark Buehrle pitched a five-hitter for the first complete game of this postseason, and the White Sox bounced back from a tight loss in the opener.

The series shifts to Anaheim for Game 3 today. The Angels were planning to finally get some sleep -- but that might be difficult after losing this way.

Los Angeles arrived at its hotel in Chicago around 6:30am local time on Tuesday after crisscrossing the country while flying overnight two days in a row.

Smooth as ever, Buehrle cruised through the ninth on eight pitches, jogging over to catch Garret Anderson's inning-ending popup himself and casually tossing the ball into the stands

Robb Quinlan homered and saved a run with a sparkling defensive play for the Angels.

Crede was doubled off second on Juan Uribe's liner to left to end the seventh, bringing manager Ozzie Guillen charging out of the dugout to argue unsuccessfully.

With a runner on third in the eighth, Scott Podsednik caught Orlando Cabrera's drive at the left-field wall to end the inning.

Brendan Donnelly relieved Angels starter Jarrod Washburn with the bases loaded in the fifth and fanned Jermaine Dye on three pitches to thwart a threat.

Washburn, coming off a throat infection and fever, allowed only an unearned run and four hits, keeping his team close.

National League

Reggie Sanders hit a two-run homer, extending his torrid postseason run, and Chris Carpenter kept pitching out of trouble to lead the St. Louis Cardinals past the Houston Astros 5-3 in Game 1 of the National League championship series on Wednesday.

The Cardinals kept up the pattern of home-field dominance that held up throughout last year's NLCS against the Astros. The home team won every game, giving St. Louis a seven-game victory and a trip to the World Series.

In the league's first championship rematch since 1992, the Cardinals again got the upper hand on their Central Division rival, a team they finished 11 games ahead of. But they have to get by the Astros again for a chance at World Series redemption after their four-game sweep by the Boston Red Sox last year.

The wild-card Astros got off to a poor start before the series even began. While running the bases in batting practice, starting pitcher Andy Pettitte was struck in the leg with a ball.

The Astros insisted the left-hander was fine, but he sure didn't look like a pitcher who was 17-9 with the NL's second-lowest ERA (2.39) during the regular season.

Pettitte exceeded his regular-season ERA before the game was three innings old. Sanders hit his mammoth shot in the first, and St. Louis made it 3-0 in the second on Carpenter's squeeze bunt, a familiar offensive weapon for the small-ball Cardinals.

Sanders, a flop in five previous postseasons, has resembled Reggie Jackson this time around. The 37-year-old outfielder had a homer and 10 RBIs in a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres in the opening round, including a division series-record six RBIs in the opener.

He didn't take long to get going in the NLCS. After David Eckstein led off for the Cardinals with a single, Sanders came up with two outs and the runner still at first. Pettitte jumped ahead in the count 1-2, but left the next pitch over the plate. Sanders got all of it, sending a 136m drive that just missed the scoreboard hanging above the auxiliary press box in left field.

As he trotted back to left field in the top of the second, the fans who had just gotten an up-close look at the homer serenaded Sanders with chants of "Reggie! Reggie! Reggie!"

For good measure, Sanders also made a leaping catch against the wall on Mike Lamb to end the sixth. Once again, the crowd erupted in chants of "Reggie!" Fellow outfielders Jim Edmonds and Larry Walker were waiting to congratulate Sanders when he got back to the dugout.

Before this year, Sanders' postseason resume was dismal: 36-for-191 for a .188 average, with five homers and 13 RBIs.
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