to back walks. El Duque came in and induced 2 pop outs and a strike out to end the inning and persevere the lead. Manager Ozzie Guillén then led the White Sox to a World Series victory, their first in 88 years. Slugger Frank Thomas was not on the post-season roster because he was injured, but the team honored his perennial contributions to the franchise during Game 1 of the Division Series against the Boston Red Sox when he was chosen to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. "What a feeling," Thomas said. "Standing all around the place. People really cheering me. I had tears in my eyes. To really know the fans cared that much about me – it was a great feeling. One of my proudest moments in the game." Houston Astros The Houston Astros won the Wild Card for the second straight year, once again clinching it on the final day of the season. The Astros embarked on a memorable Division Series rematch against the Atlanta Braves, who were the second seed in the NL. With the Astros in the lead two games to one, the teams played an 18-inning marathon in Game 4, which was the longest (in both time and innings played) postseason game in history. In this game, Roger Clemens made only the second relief appearance of his career, and the first in postseason play. Chris Burke's walk-off home run ended the game in the bottom of the 18th. For the second straight year, the Astros played the top-seeded St. Louis Cardinals in the League Championship Series. Like the White Sox, the Astros dropped Game 1, but were able to regroup and win Games 2–4. With the Astros on the verge of clinching their first ever National League pennant in Game 5, Albert Pujols hit a mammoth three-run home run off Brad Lidge in the top of the ninth inning to take the lead, and subsequently stave off elimination. However, behind NLCS MVP Roy Oswalt, the Astros were able to defeat the Cards 5–1 in Game 6 and earned a trip to the World Series. With the win, this was the Astros' first World Series appearance in franchise history, and the last game played in Busch Stadium II, as it was demolished months after the game and the Cardinals moved to Bucsh Stadium III the next season. Summary Matchups Game 1 Playing in their