June 24, 2005: Freddy García dominates as White Sox offense slugs way to 50th win

Ozzie Guillén understood Chicago’s baseball rivalry. “And so that the Venezuelans understand what this series means,” he wrote in his weekly column in El Universal, “imagine a Caracas-Magallanes game, and multiply the emotion by three.”1 Guillén knew, for decades, that fan bragging rights hung in the balance.

Both Chicago baseball fan bases’ heightened emotions regarding intercity games was symptomatic of lengthy championship droughts. Starved for titles, they embraced anything – exhibition game wins, ballpark esthetics, and crowd sizes – to claim an advantage over their crosstown rivals. Chicago fans last experienced World Series energy when the White Sox won the 1959 American League pennant. The franchise’s last World Series championship came 42 years before that. Cubs fans had waited even longer with the team’s last National League pennant in 1945 and last World Series title in 1908.

Guillén, 41 years old and in his second season as the White Sox manager, was adamant. “We are going to take the Cubs the same way we take everybody,” he said. “[The Cubs] were playing pretty good baseball.”2

“The Cubs get most of the headlines in this city,” said White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko, “so we like to show them we can play a little bit on the South Side.”3 Frank Thomas, a member of the White Sox since 1990 and nicknamed the Big Hurt, agreed. “The Cubs, they draw regardless of what type of team they put on the field,” he said. “Over here, it’s about winning. When we win here, we draw very, very well. When we don’t play well over here, we don’t draw well. That’s just the way it’s been.”4

Despite sweltering temperatures that reached 95 degrees at first pitch, the White Sox boasted a season-high crowd and welcomed 39,610 fans to a sun-soaked ballpark at 35th and Shields.5 The game was the third sellout of the season.6 And bragging rights were not the only thing on the line.

“There’s no shortage of excitement and energy,” said Kenny Williams, the White Sox general manager. “And I like the midseason boost, to be honest with you. Coming from a guy who could use any extra dollars for payroll purposes. I like to see the ballpark filled.”7

When Chicago’s teams converged at Wrigley Field8 earlier in the season, the White Sox claimed the first two games of the three-game set. As the series shifted south to US Cellular Field in June, both teams were headed in different directions. Guillén’s White Sox (49-22, .690) maintained a comfortable 9½-game cushion over their nearest American League Central Division foes, the Minnesota Twins. They also enjoyed a seven-game winning streak, which included series sweeps of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Kansas City Royals. Manager Dusty Baker’s second-place Cubs (36-35, .507) trailed the front-running St. Louis Cardinals by 8½ games in the National League Central Division. Compounding matters, they had dropped eight of their last 11 games.

Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio, the 1956 American League Rookie of the Year and a member of the 1959 pennant winners, started the celebration by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. But for real mound duty, Guillén tapped 28-year-old right-hander Freddy García (6-3, 3.75 ERA) to be the starter, the 200th start of his career.

The White Sox had expressed interest in acquiring García, a two-time American League All-Star and Rookie of the Year (1999) from the Seattle Mariners during the 2004 season. “Who wouldn’t want that kid?” Guillén said at the time. “He’s one of the dominating pitchers in the game.”9 The White Sox sealed the deal in a five-player trade in June 2004.

García demonstrated why the White Sox wanted him in the starting rotation. He had not lost a game since May 14 against the Baltimore Orioles,10 and his current winning streak began at Wrigley Field on May 20, when he pitched seven innings and defeated the Cubs yielding just five hits and surrendering one unearned run.11 Dusty Baker countered with the 24-year-old right-hander, Sergio Mitre (2-2, 4.19 ERA).

From his first pitch, García seized control, retiring the first seven Cubs batters and 12 of the first 13. As he established his rhythm on the mound, designated hitter Frank Thomas provided offensive fireworks. Scott Podsednik opened the bottom of the first inning and worked a full count. After Podsednik drew a walk, Mitre caught him leaning too far off the bag. Mitre fanned Tadahito Iguchi, the team’s Japanese rookie free agent, appearing to dodge an early jam. With two outs and the bases empty, Thomas, the two-time American League Most Valuable Player, put a charge in the crowd and secured his place in franchise history. His 428-foot blast moved Thomas past Dave Kingman into 29th place on the all-time home-run list.12 When he crossed home plate, he scored his 1,319th career run, matching former shortstop Luke Appling’s franchise record.13 Mitre contained the damage when Konerko flied out to left.

Both pitchers matched zeros in the second, but the Cubs knotted the score with one down in their third. Left fielder Todd Hollandsworth hammered a high fastball deep into the right-field seats for a solo home run.

Pablo Ozuna and Podsednik opened the bottom of the third with singles. With runners on the corners, Iguchi’s fly ball to deep right field scored Ozuna. Podsednik demonstrated why the White Sox had acquired the speedster from the Milwaukee Brewers in December. (In the 2003 and 2004 seasons, he had swiped 43 and 70 bases respectively.) Podsednik stole second and Thomas walked. With Konerko up, Podsednik swiped third. Mitre walked Konerko and with the bases loaded struck out Aaron Rowand looking. With Jermaine Dye at bat, Mitre’s wild pitch skipped beyond catcher Michael Barrett. Podsednik scored, extending the White Sox’ lead to two runs at 3-1, and Thomas and Konerko each advanced a base. Mitre coaxed Dye into hitting a grounder back to the mound, ending the inning.

García and Mitre blanked hitters in the fourth, but the Cubs threatened in the fifth. Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramírez singled to open the frame. Second baseman Todd Walker walked, then García fanned Barrett. Ramirez and Walker advanced as Hollandsworth grounded out. With two outs and two runners in scoring position, García struck out designated hitter Jason Dubois and squashed the rally.

The White Sox seized control in the bottom of the fifth. Podsednik walked. Iguchi singled, placing runners on the corners. Thomas’s fly to right scored Podsednik and gave the White Sox a 4-1 lead. Konerko grounded to short, moving Iguchi to second. With two outs, Rowand singled off Ramírez’s glove and scored Iguchi, making the score 5-1.

After Dye’s single to center sent Rowand to third, Baker summoned reliever Todd Wellemeyer. With A.J. Pierzynski up, Rowand scored and Dye advanced to second on Wellemeyer’s wild pitch. Then Pierzynski powered a two-run opposite-field homer, giving the White Sox an 8-1 lead. Wellemeyer stopped the bleeding when Joe Crede flied out to center.

The Cubs failed to capitalize on Corey Patterson’s single-handed attempt to spark a sixth-inning rally. After Patterson’s leadoff single, Neifi Pérez struck out swinging. With Derrek Lee at the plate, Patterson swiped second. Lee grounded out to third, then right fielder Jeromy Burnitz popped out in foul territory.

Despite a one-out walk and single by Podsednik and Iguchi respectively, Wellemeyer shut down the White Sox in the sixth. García answered by retiring the side in the top of the seventh.

Rowand and Dye opened the bottom of the seventh with back-to-back singles. Pierzynski doubled to score Rowand and advance Dye to third. With two runners in scoring position and no outs, Crede connected against Wellemeyer with a slicing fly ball that struck the right-field foul pole for a three-run blast.14 The White Sox now led 12-1.

Up 11 runs after seven innings, Guillén signaled for 25-year-old left-handed reliever Neal Cotts. He worked efficiently, needing 13 pitches but allowed a one-out solo homer by Dubois to complete the top of the eighth.

Trailing 12-2, Baker handed the ball to Joe Borowski to pitch the bottom of the eighth. Konerko grounded to shortstop Neifi Pérez. Borowski ended the inning with consecutive strikeouts of Rowand and Dye.

Maintaining a double-digit lead, Guillén tapped Luis Vizcaíno to secure the victory. Enrique Wilson, who replaced Lee at first, hit a ground-rule double. With Burnitz batting, Wilson took third on Vizcaino’s passed ball. Burnitz walked. With no outs and runners at the corners, Macias struck out. Jerry Hairston Jr., a late-game replacement at second, ended the game by hitting into a 6-4-3 double play.

“For me, I don’t do really good in this ballpark,” García said. “It changed today.”15

He added, “I was very aggressive. I cannot say it was my best game, but I felt great. I threw a lot of strikes and made pitches when I needed it.”16

“First inning, first pitch,” Pierzynski said when questioned about García’s effectiveness. “He threw hard, worked the ball down. That’s what we’ve been trying to get him to do all year.”17

“[García] was mixing in a lot of breaking balls,” Baker said. “He had great command. He was tantalizingly close to the strike zone and he threw very well.”18

By beating the Cubs, the White Sox secured their 50th win of the season in just 72 games, becoming the quickest team in franchise history to reach that milestone. The victory gave the White Sox the team’s third eight-game winning streak of the season. Since 1984, six teams have accomplished the same feat in fewer games:19 the Detroit Tigers (1984), New York Mets (1986), Philadelphia Phillies (1993), Cleveland Indians (1995), New York Yankees (1998), and Seattle Mariners (2001). Each team reached the postseason with three winning the World Series (Tigers, Mets, Yankees).20

“When you play this team, you have to beat them in a big way,” Guillén said. “I think we were very lucky.”21

“We’re playing the best team in baseball,” said the Cubs’ Todd Walker. “They’re solid in every aspect of the game.”22

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author accessed Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com, and SABR.org.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHA/CHA200507240.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2005/B07240CHA2005.htm

Photo credit: Freddy García, courtesy of the Chicago White Sox.

Notes

1 Mike Debonis, “Ozzie Guillén, Man of Letters,” slate.com, October 21, 2005. https://slate.com/culture/2005/10/ozzie-guillen-man-of-letters.html (accessed September 14, 2024).

2 “Neighborly Warfare,” Chicago Tribune, June 24, 2005: 17.

3 Brian Mahoney, “White Sox and rest of AL Dominate NL,” Austin (Texas) American-Statesman, June 24, 2005: 42.

4 “First-Place White Sox Trail Cubs in Attendance,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, June 24, 2005: 37.

5 Mark Gonzales, “As Torrid as Weather, Sox Romp Over Cubs for 8th Straight Victory,” Chicago Tribune, June 25, 2005: 1.

6 Associated Press, “Cubs Can’t Cool Off White Sox,” Culpeper (Virginia) Star-Exponent, June 25, 2005: 16.

7 Mark Gonzales, “Sox GM Williams Satisfied but Knows Work Isn’t Done,” Chicago Tribune, June 23, 2005: 4.

8 “Showdown Shifts to Cell,” Chicago Tribune, June 24, 2005: 14.

9 Bob Foltman, “Guillen Hopes Sox Can Obtain His Pal García,” Chicago Tribune, June 6, 2004: 4.

10 Mark Gonzales, “García at Best in Big Games,” Chicago Tribune, June 25, 2005: 7.

11 “Showdown Shifts to Cell.”

12 Mark Gonzales, “Thomas Does ‘Homework,’” Chicago Tribune, June 25, 2005: 7.

13 Phil Rogers, “Just Look Who’s Back in Sox’s Mix,” Chicago Tribune, June 25, 2005: 7.

14 Mark Gonzales, “As Torrid as Weather, Sox Romp Over Cubs for 8th Straight Victory.”

15 Jeff Carroll, “No Sweat,” Hammond (Indiana) Times, June 25, 2005: 21.

16 Mark Gonzales, “García at Best in Big Games.”

17 Andrew Seligman (Associated Press), “White Sox Maul Cubs for Eighth Straight Victory,” Corpus Christi (Texas) Caller-Times, June 25, 2005: 25.

18 Mark Gonzales, “City Series: Sox’s Offense Pours It On,” Chicago Tribune, June 25, 2005: 4.

19 Mark Gonzales, “As Torrid as Weather, Sox Romp Over Cubs for 8th Straight Victory.”

20 Jenifer Langosch, “Cards Quickest to 50 Wins in a Decade,” MLB.com, June 28, 2015 (accessed September 9, 2024).

21 Mark Gonzales, “As Torrid as Weather, Sox Romp Over Cubs for 8th Straight Victory.”

22 Jeff Carroll, “No Sweat.”