Though Podsednik's was decidedly more significant that Pujols', as it gives the Chisox a 2-0 lead coming back to Houston, and dealt yet another blow to Launching Pad Lidge's already shaky confidence.
The Astros haven't been playing bad ball, but the pitching's not there, and Chicago is just getting it done.
Man, what a game! I think the Astros are holding up pretty well, but like Pete said, the Sox are just putting the points on the board when they need them. The Sox are also getting some really good at bats against the Astros starting pitchers. I've seen many batters stay in the box for 7 - 12 pitches and that makes for a short evening for the starters. Also, it looks like the Sox have a slight edge right now in the performance of their bull pen. Oswalt is up for the Stros, so if his last two starts are any indication they should do pretty well in game 3. I hope so, because going down 3-0 would be no fun for anyone ... unless you are a ChiSox fan, or you just hate the Astros.
Chicago continues to also get a great deal of help from the umpires. Beyond the blown call in Game 2 of the ALCS, last night we had a clear foul ball ruled as a hit batsman... instead of having another shot at a 3-2 pitch that could have ended the inning, the umps loaded the bases for Chicago, and Konerko hit the next pitch for a grand slam.
Not saying that Qualls shouldn't have gotten the job done anyway, or that Jermaine Dye wouldn't have singled on the 3-2 pitch to earn the base... just saying that as it played out, the Sox got a tremendous hand from the umpires. And that's too bad.