# 2005 Houston Astros season

The 2005 Houston Astros season was the 44th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 41st as the Astros, 44th in the National League (NL), 12th as a member of the NL Central division, and fifth at Minute Maid Park. They entered the season as having finished as the NL wild card qualifiers and in second place in the NL Central division, and reached the 2004 National League Championship Series (NLCS) for the third NLCS appearance in franchise history. In the NLCS, the Astros faced the NL Central division-champion St. Louis Cardinals, who defeated them 4 games to 3, thus making them runners-up for the NL pennant for the third time.
With expectations of a deeper postseason run in 2005, Houston initially underperformed, starting at 15–30. However, they won 74 of the final 117 games (.632 winning percentage) to rally to an 89–73 overall record and second-place finish in the NL Central. Thus, the Astros claimed both a second consecutive NL wild card title and postseason berth, their sixth playoff appearance in a span of nine seasons. It was the ninth postseason appearance and second wild card qualification in franchise history.
Four Astros were selected to the MLB All-Star game, including pitchers Roger Clemens, Brad Lidge, and Roy Oswalt, and third baseman Morgan Ensberg.
The Astros faced the repeat division-champion Cardinals in the 2005 NLCS for a rematch of the 2004 NLCS. The Astros won this time, 4 games to 2, for their first National League pennant, and also to advance to the World Series for the first time in franchise history. Hence, this gave them the privilege of hosting the first World Series game played in the state of Texas. However, they were swept by the Chicago White Sox, 4 games to 0.
Ensberg, who led the Astros with 36 home runs, 101 runs batted in (RBI), and a .557 slugging percentage, won the Silver Slugger Award. Three Astros received consideration for the NL Cy Young Award, including Clemens (third place, MLB earned run average (ERA) leader at 1.87), Oswalt (fourth, 20-game winner), and Andy Pettitte (fifth, 2.39 ERA). Center fielder Willy Taveras was selected as the Players Choice Award winner for NL Outstanding Rookie, the Sporting News NL Rookie of the Year, and finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting.
The 2005 season was the Astros' final playoff appearance as a National League team, and for the next ten seasons, until 2015. First baseman Jeff Bagwell, who spent his entire career with the Astros, played his final major league game of 15 major league seasons in the 2005 World Series.

## Offseason
### Overview

In February 2005, longtime Astros players Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio were jointly inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

### Transactions

* January 7, 2005: Adam Riggs was signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros.
* January 7, 2005: Turk Wendell was signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros.
* January 23, 2005: John Franco signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros.
* February 11, 2005: Trenidad Hubbard was signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros.

## Regular season
### Overview

After starting the season with a 15–30 won–loss record, the Astros improved to 74–43 over their final 117 games to capture the NL wild card.
Bagwell hit his last major league home run against Greg Maddux on April 29, tying him for the most against any pitcher with seven.

### Standings
#### National League Central

vteNL Central :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 100 | 62 | .617 | — | 50‍–‍31 | 50‍–‍31 |
| Houston Astros | 89 | 73 | .549 | 11 | 53‍–‍28 | 36‍–‍45 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 81 | 81 | .500 | 19 | 46‍–‍35 | 35‍–‍46 |
| Chicago Cubs | 79 | 83 | .488 | 21 | 38‍–‍43 | 41‍–‍40 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 73 | 89 | .451 | 27 | 42‍–‍39 | 31‍–‍50 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 67 | 95 | .414 | 33 | 34‍–‍47 | 33‍–‍48 |

#### Record vs. opponents

2005 National League recordvte Source: :
| Team | AZ | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LAD | MIL | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | WSH | AL |
| Arizona | — | 3–3 | 5–2 | 2–4 | 11–7 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 13–5 | 2–4 | 1–6 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 10–9 | 7–11 | 2–5 | 2–4 | 8–10 |
| Atlanta | 3–3 | — | 6–1 | 7–3 | 2–4 | 10–8 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 13–6 | 9–10 | 4–3 | 1–5 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 10–9 | 7–8 |
| Chicago | 2–5 | 1–6 | — | 6–9 | 4–3 | 5–4 | 9–7 | 4–2 | 7–9 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 11–5 | 4–3 | 5–2 | 10–6 | 1–5 | 6–9 |
| Cincinnati | 4–2 | 3–7 | 9–6 | — | 3–3 | 2–4 | 4–12 | 3–4 | 6–10 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 9–7 | 4–2 | 3–5 | 5–11 | 5–1 | 7-8 |
| Colorado | 7–11 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 3–3 | — | 3–3 | 1–5 | 11–8 | 1–5 | 3–4 | 2–4 | 3–7 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 4–4 | 2–4 | 6–9 |
| Florida | 4–2 | 8–10 | 4–5 | 4–2 | 3–3 | — | 4–3 | 5–2 | 3–4 | 8–10 | 9–10 | 3–4 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 9–9 | 10–5 |
| Houston | 3–3 | 1–5 | 7–9 | 12–4 | 5–1 | 3-4 | — | 4–2 | 10–5 | 5–5 | 6–0 | 9–7 | 4–3 | 3–4 | 5–11 | 5–2 | 7–8 |
| Los Angeles | 5–13 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 4–3 | 8–11 | 2–5 | 2–4 | — | 5–1 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 5–2 | 11–7 | 9–10 | 2–5 | 2–4 | 5–13 |
| Milwaukee | 4–2 | 3–3 | 9–7 | 10–6 | 5–1 | 4–3 | 5–10 | 1–5 | — | 3–3 | 4–5 | 9–7 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 5–11 | 4–4 | 8–7 |
| New York | 6–1 | 6–13 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 4–3 | 10–8 | 5–5 | 3–3 | 3–3 | — | 11–7 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 2–5 | 11–8 | 5–10 |
| Philadelphia | 4-3 | 10–9 | 4–2 | 4–3 | 4–2 | 10–9 | 0–6 | 3–3 | 5–4 | 7–11 | — | 4–3 | 6–0 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 11–8 | 7–8 |
| Pittsburgh | 4–3 | 3–4 | 5–11 | 7–9 | 7–3 | 4–3 | 7–9 | 2–5 | 7–9 | 3–3 | 3–4 | — | 3–4 | 2–4 | 4–12 | 1–5 | 5–7 |
| San Diego | 9–10 | 5–1 | 3–4 | 2–4 | 11–7 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 7–11 | 4–3 | 2–4 | 0–6 | 4–3 | — | 12–6 | 4–3 | 5–1 | 7–11 |
| San Francisco | 11–7 | 2–4 | 2–5 | 5–3 | 11–7 | 2–4 | 4–3 | 10–9 | 3–4 | 3–3 | 1–5 | 4–2 | 6–12 | — | 2–4 | 3–3 | 6–12 |
| St. Louis | 5–2 | 3–3 | 6–10 | 11–5 | 4–4 | 4-3 | 11–5 | 5–2 | 11–5 | 5–2 | 2–4 | 12–4 | 3–4 | 4–2 | — | 4–2 | 10–5 |
| Washington | 4–2 | 9–10 | 5–1 | 1–5 | 4–2 | 9-9 | 2–5 | 4–2 | 4–4 | 8–11 | 8–11 | 5–1 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 2–4 | — | 12–6 |

### Transactions

* April 9, 2005: Brooks Kieschnick was signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros.
* April 27, 2005: Trenidad Hubbard was released by the Houston Astros.

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | AVG | SLG |
| Willy Taveras | 152 | 592 | 82 | 172 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 29 | 34 | 25 | .291 | .341 |
| Craig Biggio | 155 | 590 | 94 | 156 | 40 | 1 | 26 | 69 | 11 | 37 | .264 | .468 |
| Adam Everett | 152 | 549 | 58 | 136 | 27 | 2 | 11 | 54 | 21 | 26 | .248 | .364 |
| Morgan Ensberg | 150 | 526 | 86 | 149 | 30 | 3 | 36 | 101 | 6 | 85 | .283 | .557 |
| Jason Lane | 145 | 517 | 65 | 138 | 34 | 4 | 26 | 78 | 6 | 32 | .267 | .499 |
| Lance Berkman | 132 | 468 | 76 | 137 | 34 | 1 | 24 | 82 | 4 | 91 | .293 | .524 |
| Brad Ausmus | 134 | 387 | 35 | 100 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 47 | 5 | 51 | .258 | .331 |
| Mike Lamb | 125 | 322 | 41 | 76 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 53 | 1 | 22 | .236 | .419 |
| Chris Burke | 108 | 318 | 49 | 79 | 19 | 2 | 5 | 26 | 11 | 23 | .248 | .368 |
| Orlando Palmeiro | 114 | 204 | 22 | 58 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 3 | 15 | .284 | .431 |
| José Vizcaíno | 98 | 187 | 15 | 46 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 2 | 15 | .246 | .337 |
| Eric Bruntlett | 91 | 109 | 19 | 24 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 7 | 10 | .220 | .413 |
| Jeff Bagwell | 39 | 100 | 11 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 18 | .250 | .380 |
| Raúl Chávez | 37 | 99 | 6 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 4 | .172 | .263 |
| Luke Scott | 34 | 80 | 6 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 9 | .188 | .288 |
| Humberto Quintero | 18 | 54 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | .185 | .259 |
| Todd Self | 21 | 45 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | .200 | .311 |
| Charles Gipson | 19 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .182 | .273 |
| Charlton Jimerson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .--- | .--- |
| Pitcher Totals | 163 | 304 | 13 | 51 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 13 | .168 | .197 |
| Team Totals | 163 | 5462 | 693 | 1400 | 281 | 32 | 161 | 654 | 115 | 481 | .256 | .408 |
Source:

### Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Roy Oswalt | 20 | 12 | 2.94 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 241.2 | 243 | 85 | 79 | 48 | 184 |
| Andy Pettitte | 17 | 9 | 2.39 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 222.1 | 188 | 66 | 59 | 41 | 171 |
| Roger Clemens | 13 | 8 | 1.87 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 211.1 | 151 | 51 | 44 | 62 | 185 |
| Brandon Backe | 10 | 8 | 4.76 | 26 | 25 | 0 | 149.1 | 151 | 82 | 79 | 67 | 97 |
| Wandy Rodríguez | 10 | 10 | 5.53 | 25 | 22 | 0 | 128.2 | 135 | 82 | 79 | 53 | 80 |
| Ezequiel Astacio | 3 | 6 | 5.67 | 22 | 14 | 0 | 81.0 | 100 | 56 | 51 | 25 | 66 |
| Chad Qualls | 6 | 4 | 3.28 | 77 | 0 | 0 | 79.2 | 73 | 33 | 29 | 23 | 60 |
| Dan Wheeler | 2 | 3 | 2.21 | 71 | 0 | 3 | 73.1 | 53 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 69 |
| Brad Lidge | 4 | 4 | 2.29 | 70 | 0 | 42 | 70.2 | 58 | 21 | 18 | 23 | 103 |
| Russ Springer | 4 | 4 | 4.73 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 59.0 | 49 | 34 | 31 | 21 | 54 |
| Chad Harville | 0 | 2 | 4.46 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 38.1 | 36 | 21 | 19 | 24 | 33 |
| Mike Burns | 0 | 0 | 4.94 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 31.0 | 29 | 18 | 17 | 8 | 20 |
| Mike Gallo | 0 | 1 | 2.66 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 20.1 | 18 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 12 |
| Brandon Duckworth | 0 | 1 | 11.02 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 16.1 | 24 | 20 | 20 | 7 | 10 |
| John Franco | 0 | 1 | 7.20 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 | 23 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 16 |
| Scott Strickland | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Travis Driskill | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Team Totals | 89 | 73 | 3.51 | 163 | 163 | 45 | 1443.0 | 1336 | 609 | 563 | 440 | 1164 |
Source:

### Lone Star series

The annual interleague games between the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers were played in June and July. They are known as the Lone Star Series.
| Date | Winning Team | Score | Winning Pitcher | Losing Pitcher | Attendance | Location |
| May 20 | Texas | 7–3 | Kenny Rogers | Brandon Backe | 38,109 | Arlington |
| May 21 | Texas | 18–3 | Chris Young | Ezequiel Astacio | 35,781 | Arlington |
| May 22 | Texas | 2–0 | Chan Ho Park | Roy Oswalt | 40,583 | Arlington |
| June 24 | Houston | 5–2 | Roy Oswalt | Ricardo Rodríguez | 36,199 | Houston |
| June 25 | Texas | 6–5 | Chris Young | Brandon Backe | 41,868 | Houston |
| June 26 | Houston | 3–2 | Chad Qualls | Juan Dominguez | 35,331 | Houston |

## Game log
### Regular season

Legend :
| Astros Win | Astros Loss | Game Postponed |
2005 Regular Season Game Log: 89–73 (Home: 53–28; Away: 36–45) :
April: 9–13 (Home: 8–3; Away: 1–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordReport
1April 5Cardinals3–7Carpenter (1–0)Oswalt (0–1)Isringhausen (1)Minute Maid Park43,5670–1L1
2April 6Cardinals4–1Qualls (1–0)Tavárez (0–1)Lidge (1)Minute Maid Park28,4961–1W1
3April 8Reds3–2Clemens (1–0)Belisle (0–1)Lidge (2)Minute Maid Park36,3282–1W2
4April 9Reds4–3Lidge (1–0)Wagner (0–1)—Minute Maid Park34,5023–1W3
5April 10Reds5–2Oswalt (1–1)Milton (1–1)Lidge (3)Minute Maid Park31,8324–1W4
6April 11@ Mets4–8Hernández (1–0)Springer (0–1)—Shea Stadium53,6634–2L1
7April 13@ Mets0–1 (11)DeJean (1–0)Wheeler (0–1)—Shea Stadium22,4314–3L2
8April 14@ Mets3–4Matthews (1–0)Franco (0–1)Looper (1)Shea Stadium17,2144–4L3
9April 15@ Reds11–2Oswalt (2–1)Wilson (0–1)—Great American Ball Park31,7405–4W1
10April 16@ Reds2–3Milton (2–1)Pettitte (0–1)Graves (3)Great American Ball Park26,9265–5L1
11April 17@ Reds5–6Wagner (1–1)Qualls (1–1)Graves (4)Great American Ball Park25,7625–6L2
12April 18Braves0–1 (12)Sosa (1–0)Wheeler (0–2)Kolb (4)Minute Maid Park31,6725–7L3
13April 19Braves5–3Backe (1–0)Thomson (1–2)Lidge (4)Minute Maid Park32,1466–7W1
14April 20Brewers6–1Oswalt (3–1)Sheets (1–3)—Minute Maid Park26,1197–7W2
15April 21Brewers8–7Pettitte (1–1)Davis (2–2)Lidge (5)Minute Maid Park32,1738–7W3
16April 22@ Cardinals7–8Marquis (3–0)Duckworth (0–1)Isringhausen (6)Busch Memorial Stadium44,8058–8L1
17April 23@ Cardinals0–1 (10)Mulder (2–1)Qualls (1–2)—Busch Memorial Stadium40,0588–9L2
18April 24@ Cardinals5–8Morris (2–0Backe (1–1)Isringhausen (7)Busch Memorial Stadium39,0208–10L3
19April 25@ Pirates0–2Pérez (1–2)Oswalt (3–2)Mesa (7)PNC Park8,4138–11L4
—April 26@ PiratesPostponed (rain); Rescheduled to July 19
20April 27@ Pirates0–2Wells (2–3)Pettitte (1–2)Mesa (8)PNC Park13,4268–12L5
21April 29Cubs2–3Maddux (1–1)Clemens (1–1)Hawkins (4)Minute Maid Park41,2328–13L6
22April 30Cubs7–5Backe (2–1)Bartosh (0–1)—Minute Maid Park41,6159–13W1 :
May 10–19 (Home: 6–7; Away: 4–12)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordReport
23May 1Cubs9–3Oswalt (4–2)Prior (3–1)—Minute Maid Park38,01410–13W2
24May 2Pirates11–4Pettitte (2–2)Fogg (1–2)—Minute Maid Park23,88211–13W3
25May 3Pirates4–7White (1–2)Qualls (1–3)Mesa (9)Minute Maid Park27,80911–14L1
26May 4Pirates4–6Torres (2–1)Lidge (1–1)Mesa (10)Minute Maid Park29,29911–15L2
27May 5@ Braves3–9Thomson (3–2)Backe (2–2)—Turner Field20,55311–16L3
28May 6@ Braves4–9Smoltz (3–3)Oswalt (4–3)—Turner Field26,98711–17L4
29May 7@ Braves1–4Ramírez (2–2)Pettitte (2–3)Kolb (9)Turner Field36,45211–18L5
30May 8@ Braves0–16Hampton (4–1)Astacio (0–1)—Turner Field32,49811–19L6
31May 9@ Marlins2–1Clemens (2–1)Burnett (3–3)Lidge (6)Dolphin Stadium20,53912–19W1
32May 10@ Marlins2–6Mecir (1–0)Springer (0–2)—Dolphin Stadium11,68712–20L1
33May 11@ Marlins1–2Willis (7–0)Oswalt (4–4)Jones (3)Dolphin Stadium21,78912–21L2
34May 12Giants3–6Hennessey (2–0)Pettitte (2–4)Walker (2)Minute Maid Park29,12612–22L3
35May 13Giants2–4Rueter (2–2)Astacio (0–2)Walker (3)Minute Maid Park31,36512–23L4
36May 14Giants4–1Clemens (3–1)Tomko (3–5)Lidge (7)Minute Maid Park41,32313–23W1
37May 15Giants9–0Backe (3–2)Fassero (0–1)—Minute Maid Park33,63314–23W2
38May 17Diamondbacks3–0Oswalt (5–4)Vázquez (4–3)Lidge (8)Minute Maid Park27,15615–23W3
39May 18Diamondbacks6–7Ortiz (4–2)Pettitte (2–5)Bruney (3)Minute Maid Park27,79015–24L1
40May 19Diamondbacks1–6Halsey (3–2)Clemens (3–2)Valverde (1)Minute Maid Park32,13215–25L2
41May 20@ Rangers3–7Rogers (5–2)Backe (3–3)—Ameriquest Field in Arlington38,10915–26L3
42May 21@ Rangers3–18Young (4–2)Astacio (0–3)—Ameriquest Field in Arlington35,78115–27L4
43May 22@ Rangers0–2Park (4–1)Oswalt (5–5)Cordero (14)Ameriquest Field in Arlington40,58315–28L5
44May 23@ Cubs1–4Rusch (3–1)Rodríguez (0–1)Dempster (3)Wrigley Field38,23215–29L6
45May 24@ Cubs2–4Wuertz (3–2)Lidge (1–2)Dempster (4)Wrigley Field38,80515–30L7
46May 25@ Cubs5–1Backe (4–3)Maddux (2–3)—Wrigley Field38,11816–30W1
47May 27@ Brewers0–3Davis (6–5)Oswalt (5–6)Turnbow (7)Miller Park22,17316–31L1
48May 28@ Brewers9–6Rodríguez (1–1)Sheets (1–4)Lidge (9)Miller Park37,84517–31W1
49May 29@ Brewers2–1Pettitte (3–5)Capuano (4–4)Lidge (10)Miller Park34,40218–31W2
50May 30Reds0–9Harang (4–2)Clemens (3–3)—Minute Maid Park42,09718–32L1
51May 31Reds4–3Backe (5–3)Belisle (2–5)Lidge (11)Minute Maid Park28,53519–32W1 :
June: 16–9 (Home: 10–3; Away: 6–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordReport
52June 1Reds4–1Oswalt (6–6)Ortiz (1–4)Lidge (12)Minute Maid Park31,57120–32W2
53June 3Cardinals0–2Carpenter (8–3)Pettitte (3–6)Tavárez (3)Minute Maid Park34,09220–33L1
54June 4Cardinals9–11Marquis (7–3)Rodríguez (1–2)Isringhausen (17)Minute Maid Park39,28820–34L2
55June 5Cardinals6–4Clemens (4–3)Mulder (7–3)Lidge (13)Minute Maid Park34,00921–34W1
56June 7@ Mets1–3Martínez (7–1)Oswalt (6–7)—Shea Stadium39,95321–35L1
57June 8@ Mets4–1Backe (6–3)Zambrano (3–6)Lidge (14)Shea Stadium23,63522–35W1
58June 9@ Mets6–3 (11)Springer (1–2)Bell (0–3)Lidge (15)Shea Stadium30,73723–35W2
59June 10Blue Jays4–2Rodríguez (2–2)Lilly (3–7)Lidge (16)Minute Maid Park28,60724–35W3
60June 11Blue Jays6–3Lidge (2–2)Schoeneweis (2–2)—Minute Maid Park34,92525–35W4
61June 12Blue Jays3–0Oswalt (7–7)Towers (5–5)—Minute Maid Park30,58426–35W5
62June 13@ Orioles5–8Penn (1–0)Backe (6–4)Ryan (17)Camden Yards23,29726–36L1
63June 14@ Orioles1–6Chen (6–4)Pettitte (3–7)—Camden Yards24,65926–37L2
64June 15@ Orioles1–5López (6–4)Rodríguez (2–3)—Camden Yards31,54726–38L3
65June 17@ Royals7–0Clemens (5–3)Howell (1–1)—Kauffman Stadium27,38527–38W1
66June 18@ Royals6–2Oswalt (8–7)Carrasco (2–2)—Kauffman Stadium26,52328–38W2
67June 19@ Royals1–7Hernández (5–7)Backe (6–5)—Kauffman Stadium20,21428–39L1
68June 20Rockies7–0Pettitte (4–7)Kennedy (3–7)—Minute Maid Park28,23729–39W1
69June 21Rockies6–5Qualls (2–3)Wright (4–7Lidge (17)Minute Maid Park28,78830–39W2
70June 22Rockies6–2Clemens (6–3)Jennings (4–8)—Minute Maid Park39,41531–39W3
71June 24Rangers5–2Oswalt (9–7)Rodríguez (2–1)Lidge (18)Minute Maid Park36,19932–39W4
72June 25Rangers5–6Young (7–4)Backe (6–6)Cordero (18)Minute Maid Park41,86832–40L1
73June 26Rangers3–2 (10)Qualls (3–3)Dominguez (0–2)—Minute Maid Park35,33133–40W1
74June 27@ Rockies11–5Rodríguez (3–3)Wright (4–8)—Coors Field21,87734–40W2
75June 28@ Rockies5–6Cortés (1–0Springer (1–3)Fuentes (9)Coors Field28,72634–41L1
76June 29@ Rockies7–1Oswalt (10–7)Kim (2–7)—Coors Field23,49435–41W1
77June 30@ Reds2–2———Great American Ball Park19,90335–41— :
July: 22–7 (Home: 12–2; Away: 10–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordReport
78July 1@ Reds10–7Pettitte (5–7)Hudson (1–3)Wheeler (1)Great American Ball Park24,92336–41W2
79July 2 (1)@ Reds4–3Rodríguez (4–3)Harang (4–7)Wheeler (2)Great American Ball Parksee 2nd game37–41W3
80July 2 (2)@ Reds6–11Ortiz (4–6)Astacio (0–4)—Great American Ball Park28,23637–42L1
81July 3@ Reds9–0Clemens (7–3)Claussen (4–6)—Great American Ball Park27,50638–42W1
82July 4Padres4–1Oswalt (11–7)Lawrence (5–7)—Minute Maid Park40,55039–42W2
83July 5Padres6–2Backe (7–6)Reyes (3–2)—Minute Maid Park27,30740–42W3
84July 6Padres5–4Pettitte (6–7)Peavy (7–3)Wheeler (3)Minute Maid Park29,77441–42W4
85July 7Padres5–7Williams (5–5)Rodríguez (4–4)Hoffman (24)Minute Maid Park28,81041–43L1
86July 8Dodgers3–2Lidge (3–2)Brazobán (2–3)—Minute Maid Park36,17642–43W1
87July 9Dodgers4–2Oswalt (12–7)Weaver (7–8)Lidge (19)Minute Maid Park37,19643–43W2
88July 10Dodgers6–5Springer (2–3)Sánchez (2–4)Lidge (20)Minute Maid Park39,17744–43W3
76th All-Star Game in Detroit, Michigan
89July 15@ Cardinals3–4 (13)Thompson (1–0)Harville (0–1)—Busch Memorial Stadium48,42044–44L1
90July 16@ Cardinals2–4Marquis (9–6)Oswalt (12–8)Isringhausen (26)Busch Memorial Stadium48,03444–45L2
91July 17@ Cardinals0–3Carpenter (14–4)Clemens (7–4)—Busch Memorial Stadium46,58444–46L3
92July 18@ Pirates11–1Backe (8–6)Williams (7–7)—PNC Park17,59045–46W1
93July 19 (1)@ Pirates9–3Astacio (1–4)Snell (0–1)—PNC Parksee 2nd game46–46W2
94July 19 (2)@ Pirates6–4Rodríguez (5–4)Redman (4–10)Lidge (21)PNC Park20,55247–46W3
95July 20@ Pirates8–0Pettitte (7–7)Fogg (4–6)—PNC Park19,76948–46W4
96July 21@ Nationals3–2Oswalt (13–8)Loaiza (6–6)Lidge (22)Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium36,84049–46W5
97July 22@ Nationals14–1Clemens (8–4)Drese (7–9)—Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium38,01950–46W6
98July 23@ Nationals2–4Armas Jr. (5–4)Backe (8–7)Cordero (34)Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium42,68050–47L1
99July 24@ Nationals4–1 (14)Springer (3–3)Carrasco (3–3)Lidge (23)Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium39,20351–47W1
100July 25Phillies7–1Pettitte (8–7)Lidle (8–9)—Minute Maid Park36,02952–47W2
101July 26Phillies2–1Oswalt (14–8)Madson (4–4)—Minute Maid Park33,86753–47W3
102July 27Phillies3–2Clemens (9–4)Padilla (5–9)Lidge (24)Minute Maid Park38,07154–47W4
103July 28Mets3–2Wheeler (1–2)Hernández (1–0)—Minute Maid Park43,55255–47W5
104July 29Mets5–2Rodríguez (6–4)Benson (7–4)Lidge (25)Minute Maid Park42,65956–47W6
105July 30Mets2–0Pettitte (9–7)Glavine (7–9)Lidge (26)Minute Maid Park43,59657–47W7
106July 31Mets4–9Heilman (4–3)Wheeler (1–3)—Minute Maid Park43,02857–48L1 :
August: 13–14 (Home: 8–7; Away: 5–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordReport
107August 2@ Diamondbacks3–1Clemens (10–4)Vargas (4–6)Lidge (27)Bank One Ballpark31,69658–48W1
108August 3@ Diamondbacks7–0Astacio (2–4)Vázquez (9–10)—Bank One Ballpark22,28359–48W2
109August 4@ Diamondbacks3–7Halsey (8–7)Rodríguez (6–5)Valverde (3)Bank One Ballpark23,21759–49L1
110August 5@ Giants0–4Schmidt (8–6)Pettitte (9–8)—SBC Park39,68659–50L2
111August 6@ Giants2–5Lowry (7–11)Oswalt (14–10)—SBC Park41,95959–51L3
112August 7@ Giants8–1Clemens (11–4)Eyre (2–2)—SBC Park42,94760–51W1
113August 9Nationals5–6Patterson (6–3)Astacio (2–5)Cordero (37)Minute Maid Park34,25560–52L1
114August 10Nationals7–6Rodríguez (7–5)Hernández (13–5)Lidge (28)Minute Maid Park34,30961–52W1
115August 11Nationals6–3Pettitte (10–8)Drese (7–12)—Minute Maid Park35,03662–52W2
116August 12Pirates6–5Wheeler (2–3)White (3–5)Lidge (29)Minute Maid Park37,52463–52W3
117August 13Pirates0–1Torres (3–4)Lidge (3–3)Mesa (27)Minute Maid Park43,28663–53L1
118August 14Pirates0–8Williams (10–8)Astacio (2–6)—Minute Maid Park36,87263–54L2
119August 15Cubs12–4Rodríguez (8–5)Rusch (5–5)—Minute Maid Park26,99264–54W1
120August 16Cubs1–4Maddux (10–9)Pettitte (10–9)Dempster (17)Minute Maid Park31,96364–55L1
121August 17Cubs2–4Zambrano (10–5)Oswalt (14–10)Dempster (18)Minute Maid Park29,97864–56L2
122August 18Brewers2–5Ohka (8–7)Clemens (11–5)Turnbow (27)Minute Maid Park29,84464–57L3
123August 19Brewers5–3Springer (4–3)Davis (9–9)Lidge (30)Minute Maid Park31,65165–57W1
124August 20Brewers2–3Sheets (9–9)Harville (0–2)—Minute Maid Park41,10165–58L1
125August 21Brewers8–3Pettitte (11–9)Santos (4–12)—Minute Maid Park35,71266–58W1
126August 22@ Padres6–2Oswalt (15–10Williams (6–10)—Petco Park33,99167–58W2
127August 23@ Padres0–2Peavy (11–6)Clemens (11–6)—Petco Park37,98567–59L1
128August 24@ Padres4–7Park (11–6)Rodríguez (8–6)Hoffman (32)Petco Park30,92867–60L2
129August 26@ Dodgers2–1Pettitte (12–9)Lowe (8–13)Lidge (31)Dodger Stadium41,63868–60W1
130August 27@ Dodgers3–8Jackson (1–1)Oswalt (15–11)—Dodger Stadium51,73868–61L1
131August 28@ Dodgers0–1Weaver (13–8)Qualls (3–4)Sánchez (4)Dodger Stadium47,54168–62L2
132August 30Reds5–2Rodríguez (9–6)Ortiz (8–10)—Minute Maid Park29,97169–62W1
133August 31Reds10–0Pettitte (13–9)Claussen (9–9)—Minute Maid Park28,63970–62W2 :
September: 17–11 (Home: 7–6; Away: 10–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordReport
134September 1Reds3–1Oswalt (16–11)Harang (9–12)Lidge (32)Minute Maid Park27,49071–62W3
135September 2Cardinals6–5 (13)Qualls (4–4)Tavárez (2–3)—Minute Maid Park38,51172–62W4
136September 3Cardinals2–4Carpenter (20–4)Springer (4–4)—Minute Maid Park42,81772–63L1
137September 4Cardinals1–4Marquis (11–13)Rodríguez (9–7)—Minute Maid Park38,27772–64L2
138September 5@ Phillies4–3Pettitte (14–9)Myers (12–7)Lidge (33)Citizens Bank Park36,14473–64W1
139September 6@ Phillies2–1Oswalt (17–11)Wagner (4–2)Lidge (34)Citizens Bank Park30,60074–64W2
140September 7@ Phillies8–6Qualls (5–4)Wagner (4–3)Lidge (35)Citizens Bank Park29,02675–64W3
141September 9@ Brewers4–7Davis (10–10)Clemens (11–7)Turnbow (30)Miller Park18,13075–65L1
142September 10@ Brewers7–5Pettitte (15–9)Ohka (10–8)Lidge (36)Miller Park24,43776–65W1
143September 11@ Brewers2–4Helling (2–0)Oswalt (17–12)Turnbow (31)Miller Park17,39276–66L1
144September 12Marlins2–8Willis (21–8)Backe (8–8)—Minute Maid Park27,53876–67L2
145September 13Marlins2–4Beckett (14–8)Rodríguez (9–8)Jones (37)Minute Maid Park31,51276–68L3
146September 14Marlins10–2Clemens (12–7)Burnett (12–11)—Minute Maid Park30,91177–68W1
147September 15Marlins4–1Pettitte (16–9)Vargas (5–4)Lidge (37)Minute Maid Park35,96078–68W2
148September 16Brewers2–1Lidge (4–3)Eveland (1–1)—Minute Maid Park33,76779–68W3
149September 17Brewers7–0Backe (9–8)Obermueller (1–4)—Minute Maid Park37,75680–68W4
150September 18Brewers6–1Rodríguez (10–8)Capuano (17–10)—Minute Maid Park35,05281–68W5
151September 19@ Pirates0–7Snell (1–2)Clemens (12–8)—PNC Park13,86581–69L1
152September 20@ Pirates7–4Pettitte (17–9)Gorzelanny (0–1)—PNC Park12,92782–69W1
153September 21@ Pirates12–8Oswalt (18–12)Wells (7–17)—PNC Park16,26683–69W2
154September 22@ Pirates2–1Backe (10–8)Duke (6–2)Lidge (38)PNC Park12,58784–69W3
155September 23@ Cubs4–5Rusch (8–8)Rodríguez (10–9)Dempster (30)Wrigley Field38,62284–70L1
156September 24@ Cubs8–3Astacio (3–6)Zambrano (14–6)—Wrigley Field39,26385–70W1
157September 25@ Cubs2–3Williams (6–9)Gallo (0–1)Dempster (31)Wrigley Field38,12185–71L1
158September 27@ Cardinals3–1Oswalt (19–12)Morris (14–10)Lidge (39)Busch Memorial Stadium40,26086–71W1
159September 28@ Cardinals7–6Qualls (6–4)Isringhausen (1–2)Lidge (40)Busch Memorial Stadium40,61687–71W2
160September 29Cubs2–3Rusch (9–8)Rodríguez (10–10)Dempster (32)Minute Maid Park37,82087–72L1
161September 30Cubs3–4Novoa (4–5)Lidge (4–4)Dempster (33)Minute Maid Park41,30487–73L2 :
October: 2–0 (Home: 2–0; Away: 0–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordReport
162October 1Cubs3–1Clemens (13–8)Williams (6–10)Lidge (41)Minute Maid Park42,02188–73W1
163October 2Cubs6–4Oswalt (20–12)Maddux (13–15)Lidge (42)Minute Maid Park42,28889–73W2 :

### Postseason log

2005 Postseason Game Log (7–7) :
NL Division Series (3–1)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceSeries
1October 5@ Braves10–5Pettitte (1–0)Hudson (0–1)—Turner Field40,5901–0
2October 6@ Braves1–7Smoltz (1–0)Clemens (0–1)—Turner Field46,1811–1
3October 8Braves7–3Oswalt (1–0)Sosa (0–1)—Minute Maid Park43,7592–1
4October 9Braves7–6 (18)Clemens (1–1)Devine (0–1)—Minute Maid Park43,4133–1 :
NL Championship Series (4–2)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceSeries
1October 12@ Cardinals3–5Carpenter (2–0)Pettitte (1–1)Isringhausen (2)Busch Memorial Stadium52,3320–1
2October 13@ Cardinals4–1Oswalt (2–0)Mulder (1–1)Lidge (1)Busch Memorial Stadium52,3581–1
3October 15Cardinals4–3Clemens (2–1)Morris (1–1)Lidge (2)Minute Maid Park42,8232–1
4October 16Cardinals2–1Qualls (1–0)Marquis (0–1)Lidge (3)Minute Maid Park43,0103–1
5October 17Cardinals4–5Isringhausen (1–0)Lidge (0–1)—Minute Maid Park43,4703–2
6October 19@ Cardinals7–1Oswalt (3–0)Mulder (1–2)—Busch Memorial Stadium52,4384–2 :
World Series (0–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceSeries
1October 22@ White Sox3–5Contreras (3–1)Rodríguez (0–1)Jenks (3)U. S. Cellular Field41,2060–1
2October 23@ White Sox6–7Cotts (1–0)Lidge (0–2)—U. S. Cellular Field41,4320–2
3October 25White Sox5–7 (14)Marte (1–0)Astacio (0–1)Buehrle (1)Minute Maid Park42,8480–3
4October 26White Sox0–1Garcia (1–0)Lidge (0–3)Jenks (4)Minute Maid Park42,9360–4 :

## Postseason
### National League Divisional Playoffs

The Astros faced a rematch in the Atlanta Braves in the Division Series. This was the fifth time the two teams had met in the postseason (1997, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005), and the Astros were looking to add on reaching the second round of the postseason in back-to-back years; the two teams had met for six games in the regular season, for which Houston won only once. In Game 1 in Atlanta, the Astros struck first on a Morgan Ensberg RBI single, but Chipper Jones tied the game as the first inning ended. Ensberg gave the Astros the lead again on a bases-loaded single made it 3–1. Craig Biggio hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Brad Ausmus to make it 4–1 in the fourth, but Andruw Jones cut into the lead with a two-run shot to make it 4–3. Enberg struck again in the seventh with a RBI hit to drive in Andy Pettitte after he had hit a double. The Astros finally broke the game all the way through in the eighth, scoring five runs on the bases of four hits, three walks, and a wild pitch. The Astros prevailed in Game 1 by a score of 10–5. Despite having Roger Clemens on the mound for Game 2, he was outmatched by John Smoltz, who allowed just one run while the Braves used the efforts of rookie Brian McCann (who hit a three-run shot in the second) to win 7–1.
Back in Houston for Game 3, the Astros struck first again by the efforts of Morgan Ensberg and Jason Lane, who made it 2-0 after one inning. McCann and pitcher Jorge Sosa tied the game on hits with two out in the next inning, but Mike Lamb would hit a home run in the third inning to make it 3–2. In the seventh, the Astros took advantage of Chris Reitsma (and others) on the mound, scoring four runs in the inning after hits by Lance Berkman, Ensberg and Lane went with a sacrifice fly by Adam Everett; the Astros prevailed 7–3. Game 4 proved to be a classic for the ages despite its initial misgivings for Houston. Adam LaRoche hit a grand slam off Brandon Backe to make it 4–0 in the third inning. The Braves added another run in the fifth that was matched by Houston, but the Braves scored in the top of the eighth inning with a McCann home run off Wandy Rodríguez to make it 6–1. However, the Astros would strike back, doing so when Lance Berkman hit a grand slam off Kyle Farnsworth to make it 6–5. Then, in the ninth inning with two out, Brad Ausmus stepped up to the plate against Farnsworth and proceeded to hit a home run, tying the game at six that sent it to extra innings. The two teams traded zeroes for the next eight innings while setting a record for the longest postseason game in MLB history; Roger Clemens pitched three innings of relief due to a lack of relievers. In the bottom of the 18th, with Joey Devine on the mound for Atlanta, Chris Burke would line a shot to left field that cleared the scoreboard for a walk-off home run. This was the second postseason series victory for the Astros, and it sent them back to the National League Championship Series.

### National League Championship Series

The opponent for the Astros in the Championship Series was a familiar foe: the St. Louis Cardinals, their rival in the National League Central. They had previously matched up against each other in the previous NLCS, which saw the Astros lose in seven games, needing only one more win to reach the Series. The Cardinals had won 100 games and had beaten Houston in eleven of sixteen games this season (worst among their division foes) Game 1 was controlled by St. Louis from the jump. Reggie Sanders hit a two-out homerun with David Eckstein on base to make it 2–0. A sacrifice bunt by the pitcher drove in a third run in the second inning. Eckstein drove a run in with a single while Albert Pujols capped the scoring for the Cardinals with a single. The only scoring for Houston came late, as Chris Burke hit a two-run shot off the bullpen to make it 5–2 in the seventh before Brad Ausmus hit a sacrifice fly to make it 5–3, but reliever Jason Isringhausen finished the Astros off with no further damage. This was the fifth straight loss for the Astros in a postseason game played in St. Louis. Game 2 proved a different story. Burke lined a tripe with one out and then scored later when Cardinals pitcher Mark Mulder threw a ball past the catcher. Brad Ausmus lined a double in the fifth inning and then was driven home on a bunt and ground out to make it 2–0. Albert Pujols lined a home run to start the sixth inning, but the Cardinals were out-hit 11-6 and scored no more; Burke and Adam Everett would lend a hand with RBI hits to even the series at one.
In Game 3 back in Houston, Mike Lamb hit a two-run shot off Matt Morris to give them a 2–0 lead in the fourth inning. Roger Clemens would allow back-to-back hits in the fifth and sixth inning that saw the Cardinals score a run each to tie the game. However, in the sixth inning, Lamb hit a double that set him up to score when Jason Lane hit a single. A further single lead to Adam Everett at the plate, who hit into a fielder's choice that made it 4–2. While the Cardinals scored a run in the ninth inning on an RBI double, they could not crack Brad Lidge (who until this game had allowed no runs against St. Louis since May 2003) as Houston now led the Series. Game 4 was a tight affair that saw the bullpens flicker more than the offense, which saw eleven combined hits lead to three runs. Pujols gave the Cardinals the lead on a sacrifice fly in the 4th, but Jason Lane hit a home run off Jeff Suppan to tie it. In the seventh inning, the Astros had the bases loaded with less than two outs. With Morgan Ensberg at the plate, he hit a flyout that gave enough room to score a run from the third base. The Cardinals had a prime chance in the ninth inning when Lidge allowed back-to-back singles, but this would be followed by a groundball that led to a play at the plate that saw Pujols out at home for one out. John Mabry then grounded into a double play to give Houston a 3–1 lead. In Game 5, the Astros were one away from history. Craig Biggio started the scoring with an RBI single in the second, but St. Louis responded by hitting a single with the bases loaded to drive in two runs. In the seventh inning, with two on base and starter Chris Carpenter trying to go through the inning clean, Lance Berkman hit a home run to give the Astros a 4–2 lead. It set the stage for a pivotal ninth inning with Lidge set to close the inning. He got two easy outs before Eckstein lined a single with two strikes; this was followed by Jim Edmonds drawing a walk. Lidge now faced Albert Pujols at the plate; he hit a shot to left field that would give St. Louis a 5–4 lead that proved the difference in making the series now 3–2 in favor of Houston. Game 6, played at Busch Stadium, was a rematch between Game 2 starters Roy Oswalt and Mark Mulder. Houston set up the scoring with getting runners on second and third base in the third inning before Mulder threw a wild pitch that scored a run; Biggio then hit a single to drive in the other runner to make it 2–0. Jason Lane hit his second home run of the series in the fourth inning to make it 3–0. Roy Oswalt would dominate the Cardinals for seven innings, allowing only a run on a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning as the bullpen took control from there while adding two insurance runs in the sixth and seventh. With Dan Wheeler on the mound, Yadier Molina hit a flyball to right field that was caught by Jason Lane for the final out, clinching the first ever pennant for the Astros in history. Oswalt, who went 2–0 with a 1.29 ERA in 14 innings, was named NLCS MVP, the second time an Astro had won the award and first since Mike Scott in 1986.

### World Series

After having played 4,714 games and their entire major league careers together in Houston, Bagwell and Biggio appeared in their first World Series in 2005.

#### Game 1

October 22, 2005 at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago
Playing in their first World Series home game since 1959, the White Sox took an early lead with a home run from Jermaine Dye in the first inning. The Sox scored two more in the second when Juan Uribe doubled in A. J. Pierzynski after Carl Everett had already scored on a groundout earlier in the inning. The Astros responded again in the next inning when Lance Berkman hit a double, driving in Adam Everett and Craig Biggio. In the White Sox half of the fourth, Joe Crede hit what turned out to be the game-winning home run. In the bottom of the eighth, Scott Podsednik hit a triple with Pierzynski on second. Roger Clemens recorded his shortest World Series start, leaving after the second inning with 53 pitches including 35 for strikes, due to a sore hamstring that he had previously injured (and caused him to miss his last regular season start) as the loss went to Wandy Rodríguez. José Contreras pitched seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits for the win, and Bobby Jenks earned the save to give the White Sox a 1–0 lead in the series. When Neal Cotts entered the game in the top of the 8th it marked the first time in 5 games that the White Sox had gone to their bullpen.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Houston | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| Chicago | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | 5 | 10 | 0 |
| WP: José Contreras (1-0) LP: Wandy Rodríguez (0-1) Sv: Bobby Jenks (1) Home runs: HOU: Mike Lamb (1) CHW: Jermaine Dye (1), Joe Crede (1) |||||||||||||

#### Game 2

October 23, 2005 at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago
On a miserably cold (51 degrees) and rainy evening, Morgan Ensberg's first-pitch home run off starter Mark Buehrle put the Astros on top in the second inning. The White Sox answered in the bottom of the second with two runs of their own off Andy Pettitte. Lance Berkman drove in three runs in the game, two of them on a go-ahead double in the top of the fifth. In the seventh inning, Dan Wheeler loaded the bases with a double to Juan Uribe, a walk to Tadahito Iguchi, and home plate umpire Jeff Nelson's ruling that Jermaine Dye was hit by a pitched ball. The ruling was considered questionable, as television replays showed that the ball hit Dye's bat (which would have made the pitch a foul ball rather than a HBP). The Astros brought in Chad Qualls, who promptly served up a grand slam to Paul Konerko on the very first pitch he threw, the eighteenth grand slam in the annals of the Fall Classic. In the top of the ninth, White Sox closer Bobby Jenks blew the save when he gave up a two-run game-tying pinch hit single to José Vizcaíno. In the bottom half of the ninth, Astros closer Brad Lidge gave up a one-out, walk-off home run — the fourteenth in Series history — to Scott Podsednik, giving Lidge his second loss in as many post-season appearances (his previous appearance was in Game 5 of 2005 National League Championship Series). Podsednik had not hit a single homer in the regular season, and this was his second of the postseason. The Series moved to Houston with the White Sox leading 2–0.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Houston | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 0 |
| Chicago | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 0 |
| WP: Neal Cotts (1-0) LP: Brad Lidge (0-1) Home runs: HOU: Morgan Ensberg (1) CHW: Paul Konerko (1), Scott Podsednik (1) |||||||||||||

#### Game 3

October 25, 2005 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas
Game 3 was the first ever World Series game played in the state of Texas. Before the game, it was ruled by Commissioner Bud Selig that the retractable roof would be open at Minute Maid Park, weather permitting. The Astros objected, citing that their record in games with the roof closed was better than with the retractable roof open. Selig's office claimed that the ruling was based on the rules established by Houston and were consistent with how the Astros organization treated the situation all year long, as well as the weather forecasts for that period of time.
In the game – the longest World Series game in length of time (five hours and forty-one minutes) and tied for the longest in number of innings (fourteen, tied with Game 2 of the 1916 World Series) – Lance Berkman singled with one out after a Craig Biggio lead-off double in the bottom of the first as the Astros struck early. The White Sox had a rally snuffed in the top of the second inning; after Paul Konerko hit a lead-off double and A. J. Pierzynski walked, Aaron Rowand hit into a line-drive double play. Adam Everett caught the ball and then doubled Konerko off second by flipping the ball to Biggio, who stepped on the bag. Houston scored in the bottom of the third when Everett led off with a walk. Everett got caught in a rundown and got hit by the ball on a Juan Uribe throwing error that hit Everett. A Roy Oswalt sacrifice bunt and a Biggio single sent Everett home. Berkman singled again with two out, sending Biggio to third. Then Morgan Ensberg singled Biggio home for the third run of the game. Jason Lane led off the Astros' fourth with a home run to left-center field. It was later shown in replays that the ball should not have been ruled a home run, hitting the left side of the yellow line on the unusual wall in left-center field.
The White Sox rallied in the top of the fifth, true to their "Win Or Die Trying" mantra of 2005, starting with a Joe Crede lead-off homer. Uribe, on first after hitting a single, scored on a Tadahito Iguchi base hit with one out, followed by Scott Podsednik coming home on a duck-snort single by Jermaine Dye. Pierzynski hit a two-out double to Tal's Hill, driving in two runs, scoring Iguchi and Dye giving the White Sox the lead. The Astros rallied in the last of the eighth with two outs when Lane's double scored Ensberg with the tying run after back-to-back walks by Ensberg and Mike Lamb, giving Dustin Hermanson a blown save. Houston tried to rally to win in the ninth, but stranded Chris Burke at third, after he had walked, reached second on an error and stolen third.
The Astros tried again in the tenth as well as in the eleventh, but failed each time. In the top of the fourteenth, after the Sox hit into a spectacular double play started by Ensberg, Geoff Blum (a former Astro) homered to right with two outs off Ezequiel Astacio. After two infield singles by Rowand and Crede that went a total of 150 feet according to McCarver, Uribe walked, and then Chris Widger walked thanks to Astacio's sudden wildness. The Astros tried to rally with the tying runs on first and third and two outs after a Uribe error, but Game 2 starter Mark Buehrle earned the save for winning pitcher Dámaso Marte when Everett popped out, bringing the White Sox one game closer to their first World Championship in eighty-eight years. Buehrle became the first pitcher ever to start a game in the Series, and save the next one.
Many records were set or tied in the game besides time and innings: The teams combined to use seventeen pitchers (nine for the White Sox, eight for the Astros), throwing a total of 482 pitches, and walking twenty-one batters combined (a dozen by Chicago, nine by Houston); forty-three players were used (the White Sox used twenty-two and the Astros used twenty-one), and thirty men were left on base (fifteen for each team), all new high-water marks in their categories in Fall Classic history. Scott Podsednik set a new all-time record with eight official-at-bats in this game. One record that was tied was most double plays turned, with six (four by the Astros, two by the White Sox).
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | R | H | E |
| Chicago | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 14 | 3 |
| Houston | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 1 |
| WP: Dámaso Marte (1-0) LP: Ezequiel Astacio (0-1) Sv: Mark Buehrle (1) Home runs: CHW: Joe Crede (2), Geoff Blum (1) HOU: Jason Lane (1) ||||||||||||||||||

#### Game 4

October 26, 2005 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas
Before the game, Major League Baseball unveiled its Latino Legends Team.
The fourth game was the pitchers' duel that had been promised throughout the series. Both Houston starter Brandon Backe and Chicago starter Freddy García put zeros on the scoreboard through seven innings, the longest since Game 7 of the 1991 World Series. Scott Podsednik had a two-out triple in the top of the third, but Tadahito Iguchi grounded out to second, thus snuffing that threat. The Astros had the best chance of scoring in the sixth, but Jason Lane struck out with the bases loaded to end that rally. The White Sox had a chance in the top of the seventh with runners at second and third and two out, but shortstop Juan Uribe struck out to snuff the rally. The White Sox were able to break through in the next inning against embattled Houston closer Brad Lidge. Willie Harris hit a pinch-hit single. Podsednik moved Harris to second with a sacrifice bunt. Carl Everett pinch-hit for Iguchi and grounded out to the right side to allow Harris to move over to third. Jermaine Dye, the Most Valuable Player of the series, had the game-winning single, driving in Harris.
Things got a little sticky for the Sox in the Astros half of the eighth when reliever Cliff Politte hit Willy Taveras, threw a wild pitch, sending Taveras to second, and walked Lance Berkman. After Morgan Ensberg flew out to center, ChiSox manager Ozzie Guillén brought in Neal Cotts to finish the inning. Cotts induced pinch-hitter José Vizcaíno into a ground out to Uribe. Bobby Jenks, the 24-year-old fireballer, started the ninth inning. He allowed a single to Jason Lane and a sacrifice bunt to Brad Ausmus. Chris Burke came in to pinch-hit; he fouled one off to the left side, but Uribe made an amazing catch in the stands to retire Burke.
The game ended when Orlando Palmeiro grounded to Uribe. It was a bang-bang play as Paul Konerko caught the ball from Uribe at 11:01 p.m. CDT to begin the biggest celebration in Chicago since the sixth NBA championship by the Bulls in 1998, and end the second-longest period without a World Series title (the cross-town Chicago Cubs owned the longest such streak at the time, as they had not won since 1908, until winning in 2016). The 1–0 shutout was the first 1-run game to end a World Series since the 1995 World Series, in which Game 6 was won by the Atlanta Braves over the Cleveland Indians, and the first 1–0 game in any Series game since Game 5 of the 1996 World Series when the New York Yankees shut out the Braves in the last game ever played at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Chicago | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| Houston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| WP: Freddy García (1-0) LP: Brad Lidge (0-2) Sv: Bobby Jenks (2) |||||||||||||

#### Composite box

2005 World Series (4-0): Chicago White Sox (A.L.) over Houston Astros (N.L.)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | R | H | E |
| Chicago White Sox | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 44 | 3 |
| Houston Astros | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 29 | 2 |
| Total attendance: 166,422  Average attendance: 42,106 ||||||||||||||||||

## Awards and honors

* Craig Biggio, Hutch Award
* Roy Oswalt, 2005 National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player
* All-Star Game
** Roger Clemens, pitcher, reserve
** Brad Lidge, pitcher, reserve
** Roy Oswalt, pitcher, reserve
** Morgan Ensberg, third base, reserve
* Inducted into Texas Sports Hall of Fame:
** Jeff Bagwell
** Craig Biggio

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Round Rock Express | Pacific Coast League | Jackie Moore |
| AA | Corpus Christi Hooks | Texas League | Dave Clark |
| A | Salem Avalanche | Carolina League | Iván DeJesús |
| A | Lexington Legends | South Atlantic League | Tim Bogar |
| A-Short Season | Tri-City ValleyCats | New York–Penn League | Gregg Langbehn |
| Rookie | Greeneville Astros | Appalachian League | Russ Nixon |