David Eckstein opened Game 4 of the NLCS with a walk. However, the baserunner did not translate into a run for St. Louis as CF-L Jim Edmonds hit into a double play. RHP Brandon Backe then struck out 1B-R Albert Pujols to end the inning. St. Louis starter RHP Jeff Suppan did not allow Houston on base in the bottom of the first, and Backe followed suit against the Cardinals in the top of the second.

3B-R Morgan Ensberg led off the bottom of the second with a groundball single into left field. After 1B-L Mike Lamb struck out, RF-R Jason Lane dropped a flyball into left field for a single that advanced Ensberg to second. The Astros were unable to drive in either runner as Suppan struck out C-R Brad Ausmus and SS-R Adam Everett grounded out to end the inning.

In the top of the third, Backe retired the bottom of the St. Louis order in order, hastening his plate appearance as the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the third. Backe grounded out as did 2B-R Craig Biggio, but then Jeff Suppan walked both CF-R Chris Burke and LF-S Lance Berkman. The game remained scoreless as Ensberg grounded out to send it into the fourth.

Leading off the top of the fourth, SS-R Eckstein took a four-pitch walk from Backe. Edmonds then hit a line drive into left field. While the roof of Minute Maid stadium was closed, the ball splashed up water and Berkman appeared to have trouble gripping it before making the throw to the infield. Eckstein advanced to third on the double. Up next, Pujols hit a flyball to Lane in right, Edmonds held up at second, but Eckstein tagged up and went home to put St. Louis up 1-0. RF-L Larry Walker took a base on balls, but Backe struck out LF-R Reggie Sanders and 3B-L John Mabry flew out to center, ending the Cardinals' initially scoring drive.

One out into the bottom of the fourth, Lane propelled a pitch over the wall and into the left field stands, tying the game at 1. Suppan struck out Ausmus and Everett grounded out, so the playing field remained even going into the fifth.

C-R Yadier Molina led off the top of the fifth with a grounder to short. Everett's throw pulled Lamb off the bag down the first base line, but he was able to tag Molina for the out. Grudzielanek also grounded out, and Backe struck out Suppan to send the game into the bottom of the fifth. Repaying Backe in kind, Suppan served up a strikeout to the pitcher, who was up first for Houston. Biggio negotiated a five-pitch walk. When Burke lined out to left, Biggio had to hustle back to first to avoid being doubled off. Berkman popped out, so Biggio remained stranded at first.

Backe opened the top of the sixth by striking out Eckstein and Edmonds, bringing up Pujols. Pujols knocked a grounder into left for a single and then the Astros pulled Backe to bring in LHP Mike Gallo to pitch to Walker. The pitching change seemed quite unnecessary considering Backe's effectiveness to that point and his pitch count of only 81. Walker grounded out and the game moved to the bottom of the sixth. With RHP Jason Marquis having relieved Suppan, Ensberg led off with a line drive into left for a single. Swinging at the first pitch, 1B-L Mike Lamb flew out to left-center, so Ensberg remained at first until Lane walked and pushed him to second. Neither runner scored as Marquis struck out Ausmus and Everett grounded out.

RHP Chad Qualls took the ball for Houston in the top of the seventh and pitched a one-two-three inning. Pinch-hitting for Qualls, left-handed hitter Orlando Palmeiro led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk. Biggio laid down a bunt to move Palmeiro to second and made it safely to first when Marquis erroneously bobbled the ball as he tried to field the bunt midway between first and home near the baseline. The runners held when Burke hit a flyball to Sanders in left, and then Marquis issued a four-pitch walk to Berkman to load the bases. LaRussa took offense to home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi's strike zone and received an ejection for his words from the bench. Once ejected, he went onto the field in an attempt to yell his opinion at Cuzzi, though he was intercepted by crew chief Tim McClelland. While Cuzzi's strike zone seemed to incorporate some borderline pitches as strikes, his application of that zone appeared consistent throughout the game, and he clearly wasn't receptive to shouted suggestions, so LaRussa almost certainly should have held his tongue. Before play resumed, Houston sent Willy Taveras to run for Palmeiro. Ensberg hit a flyball to Edmonds in center, but Taveras tagged up and blazed home to put the Astros up 2-1. Lamb ended the inning with a flyout to left.

Houston gave RHP Dan Wheeler the ball for the eighth, and 2B-R Mark Grudzielanek led off with a groundball single into right. Ausmus caught the pop-up that resulted from Marquis' attempt to bunt. After Eckstein flew out to Burke in left, Edmonds came to the plate. With the count 3-1, Edmonds checked his swing on a chest-height pitch across the inside corner. Cuzzi called it a strike. Edmonds headed for first and then realized the call. He returned and had a few quiet words with Cuzzi. Cuzzi responded and motioned for Edmonds to return to the batters' box. Edmonds moved a bit in that direction but made a parting comment and Cuzzi ejected him. At no point did Edmonds' body language appear hostile and although you can eject a player for arguing balls and strikes the bar should be set higher for ejections in playoff games. Barring contact, Cuzzi should have proceeded as a neutral factor rather than taking an active role in the outcome of the game by removing an impact player from the contest. Following the ejection Edmonds became heated and was joined on field by members of the Cardinals' coaching staff. Left-handed hitter John Rodriguez took Edmonds' place in the batters' box. Navigating the centerfield flag hill, Taveras caught Rodriguez's fly to end the inning.

Two outs into the bottom of the eighth, Everett hit a line drive into left field for a single. CF-R Taveras then knocked a grounder into left for a single that moved Everett to second. However, Biggio popped out to end the inning before Houston could build on their lead.

Closer RHP Brad Lidge took the ball for the Astros in the top of the ninth. Leading off, Pujols hit a flyball into center. Coming in too fast, Taveras booted the ball and it bounced over to Lane, who threw to second to keep Pujols from taking an extra base. With Pujols at first, Walker pounded a grounder down the right field line for a single that moved Pujols to third. Up next, Sanders bounced the ball down the third baseline to Ensberg who made a perfect throw home, where Ausmus tagged out Pujols who was running with a big lead on contact. During the hubbub at the plate, Walker took third. Afterwards Ensberg tried to convince the umpire that time had been called prior to Walker advancing but they didn't buy it. The argument proved moot when Mabry hit into a double play to end the game. Houston now leads the NLCS 3-1.

After the first pitch of Game 5 of the ALCS, the FOX game line at the top of the screen showed the White Sox with a 3-0 lead over the Angels. By the third pitch of the game, the network had corrected the problem without comment, giving both teams a clean slate. Anaheim starter RHP Paul Byrd proceeded to strike out Chicago leadoff hitter LF-L Scott Podsednik. An inside pitch then plunked 2B-R Tadahito Iguchi in the stomach, giving the White Sox a runner at first. RF-R Jermaine Dye sent a fly ball into short left field where it dropped in front of LF-R Juan Rivera for a single that moved Iguchi to second. Up next, 1B-R Paul Konerko hit a line drive directly to RF-R Vladimir Guerrero in deep right, though Iguchi was able to tag up and beat the throw to advance to third. The runners remained stranded at first and third when DH-S Carl Everett popped out to end top of the first.

One out into the bottom of the first, RHP Jose Contreras came off the mound to nicely catch a bunt SS-R Orlando Cabrera popped up midway between his position and the third base line. CF-L Garret Anderson hit a soft line drive into left field for a single, but Guerrero popped out to end the inning before the Angels could move Anderson off first.

Leading off the top of the second, CF-R Aaron Rowand hit a line drive down the right field line, where it bounced into the stands for an automatic double. C-L A.J. Pierzynski then laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Rowand to third. When 3B-R Joe Crede hit a flyball to Anderson a few feet short of the warning track in centerfield, Rowand tagged up and went home to put Chicago up 1-0. Rain drizzled on the field as SS-R Juan Uribe grounded out to send the game to the bottom of the second.

Contreras went one-two-three through the bottom of the inning only to have Byrd quickly retire the top of the White Sox's lineup in the third. Rivera led off the bottom of the third with a line drive double into left field. With 2B-L Adam Kennedy at the plate, Contreras made a pick-off attempt on Rivera at second. The throw was low, hit the bag, and bounced past Uribe into center. Rivera took off for third and slid safely into the bag before the throw came in from Rowand. Kennedy hit a soft line drive into shallow left center for a single that easily drove in Rivera to tie the game at 1. 3B-S Chone Figgins moved Kennedy to second with a sacrifice bunt, so after Cabrera grounded out on the first pitch of his at-bat, the Angels were down to only one out in the inning. On the third pitch of Anderson's plate appearance, Pierzynski let a low inside pitch slide past him to the backstop allowing Kennedy to move to third. Contreras issued Anderson a four-pitch walk, giving Anaheim runners at first and third, however Guerrero grounded out to end the inning before the Angels could take the lead.

One out into the top of the fourth, Everett hit a line drive single into right field for a single. Rowand almost sent a line drive over the head of Kennedy into right, but Kennedy executed an impressive leap to make the catch. Pierzynski then flew out to left to leave Everett stranded at first. Contreras walked DH-L Casey Kotchman in the bottom of the fourth, but did not allow the baserunner to cause any trouble.

After Crede grounded out to lead of the fifth, Uribe hit a hard grounder just to the right of third base where it skidded past a diving Figgins into left field for a double. Podsednik then worked Byrd for a nine-pitch walk. The runners held at first and second while Iguchi flew out to left on the first pitch of his at-bat. Also swinging at his first pitch, Dye hit a line drive into left field. Playing close to the line, Rivera was unable to get over to make the catch, giving Dye a double that drove in Uribe and moved Podsednik to third. At that point, the Angels called for RHP Scot Shields to relieve Byrd. With Shields pitching, Konerko hit a flyball to the warning track in left field, where Rivera made the catch, sending the game into the bottom of fifth with Chicago leading 2-1.

Leading off for Anaheim, Kennedy singled on a grounder hit hard to third base. Figgins hit a long fly ball down the right field line where baring interference it likely would have hit off the wall and bounced around the corner giving Figgins a triple and driving in Kennedy. Dye was several yards away from the ball as it approached the stands, where a front row fan, probably instinctively, leaned down slightly and snatched it from the air. The umpires initially signaled for an automatic double, which would have left Kennedy at third, but after conferring with Anaheim Manger Scioscia and among themselves the crew awarded Kennedy home while keeping Figgins at third. White Sox's Manger Ozzie Guillen listened to an explanation of the call and then returned to his dugout without obvious protest as everyone seemed to agree with the decision on the field. Cabrera spiked the ball in front of the plate and it bounced into the air near second base. Iguchi stopped it from flying into the outfield and threw to first to retire Cabrera while Figgins advanced to third. Anderson hit a long flyball to Dye at the warning track in right field, allowing Figgins to tag up and put the Angels up 3-2. Guerrero grounded out to end the inning.

Neither Shields nor Contreras allowed any baserunners in the sixth. Anaheim sent RHP Kelvim Escobar out to pitch the seventh, and Crede lofted his second pitch over the wall in left field to tie the game at 3. Escobar then struck out Uribe before walking Podsednik. During Iguchi's at-bat, the Angels executed a pitch-out. Cabrera failed to catch C-R Bengie Molina's short throw, allowing it to bounce over his glove, and skid off the back of Podsednik, who'd slid head first into second. Kennedy was backing up the throw, so the ball did not go loose in centerfield. Escobar negated the impact of the play by striking out Iguchi and Dye to escape the inning. After Contreras cruised one-two-three through the bottom of the seventh, Escobar continued to deal out the stikeouts, retiring both Konerko and Everett with K's before walking Rowand. Pierzynski then hit a grounder up the middle where it bounced off Escobar and towards the first baseline. Escobar came off the mound and recovered the ball with his bare hand while running toward the baseline to make the tag. However, with the ball still in his right hand he reached over and tagged Pierzynski with his glove. Realizing his mistake he then tried to throw to first, but Pierzynski beat him to the bag. While the first base umpire initially called Pierzynski out on the tag, Pierzynski and Guillen protested the call, and after consulting the home plate umpire for his view of the play, the crew ruled Pierzynski safe. Anaheim then called for RHP Francisco Rodriguez to relieve Escobar.

With Pierzynski and Rowand at first and third respectively, Crede sent a groundball up the middle. Kennedy made a diving stop behind second base but his throw home went wide to the third base side and Rowand slid head first into home to give Chicago a 4-3 lead. Rodriguez then issued a four-pitch walk to Uribe to load the bases before settling down to strike out Podsednik and end the inning.

The heart of the Angels' lineup failed to produce a baserunner in the bottom of the eighth, so Rodriguez soon returned to the mound. Iguchi led off the top of the ninth with a walk. During Dye's plate appearance, Iguchi took off for second. Molina's throw arrived on the right side of second base at almost the same time as Iguchi and Kennedy was unable to make the catch, which allowed Iguchi to reach the base safely. Dye also walked, giving the White Sox runners at first and second. Konerko then hit a flyball off the wall in right field for a double that moved Dye to third and drove in Iguchi. Everett fell victim to K-Rod, bringing Rowand to the plate. Rowand hit a flyball down the right field line to Guerrero. Guerrero's throw home went wide left and short of home, so Dye scored easily, but Molina was in position for the catch and relayed the ball to third, where Figgins tagged out Konerko to end the inning with Chicago up 6-3.

Going back out to the mound for the bottom of the ninth, Contreras did not give the Angels the opportunity of even one baserunner as he completed the game, securing the win and a trip to the World Series for the White Sox. The skies pelted the Chicago players with rain as they celebrated on the field before heading to the clubhouse for champagne showers.

Konerko received the ALCS MVP award. During the series, Konerko hit .286 with a .318 OBP and .619 SLG on 6 H, 1 2B, and 2 HR with a 1:4 BB:K in 21 AB. He scored two runs and drove in seven.