The Five Best White Sox Moments of the Crosstown Series

After the "festivities" of May 20, 2006, AJ Pierzynski was to Cubs fans as Alex Rodriguez is to Red Sox fans. Cubs fans hated no player more than Pierzynski heading into the second three-game set between the Sox and Cubs.

This one took place at Wrigley, and the Cubs had the defending World Series Champions on the ropes, up 6-5 with two outs in the ninth inning.

However, the Sox had two men on base against Cubs closer Ryan Dempster. Coming up to bat?

AJ Pierzynski.

You couldn't have scripted it better for the White Sox—Pierzynski with a chance to pay back Michael Barrett and the Cubs with at least a game-tying hit.

Pierzynski one-upped that, nailing a hanging breaking ball from Dempster and depositing it over the right field wall and onto Sheffield Avenue.

As Pierzynski rounded the bases, Cubs fans took out their frustrations by throwing trash onto the field, delaying the game. In the end, the cups, bottles, and wrappers couldn't save the Cubs, as the Sox hung on to win the game by a score of 8-6.

#2: Lee walks off with slam: June 8, 2001

In front of the then-largest crowd in Comiskey Park/U.S. Cellular Field history, Carlos Lee took the stage and delivered a grand performance.

The crowd of 45,936—well, not the Cubs fans in attendance—was sent into a frenzy when Lee drilled an 0-1 offering from Cubs reliever Courtney Duncan far over the left-field fence for a walk-off grand slam in the tenth inning, giving the Sox a 7-3 victory.

That home run cemented Lee as a "Cub killer"—a reputation he kept up by picking up numerous big hits in the Crosstown Classic while he was with the White Sox.

#1: Barrett slams Pierzynski; Iguchi slams Cubs: May 20, 2006

Everybody remembers the play: Brian Anderson hits a fly ball to left, Pierzynski tags up, Pierzynski gets to the plate at the same time as the throw, Pierzynski runs over Michael Barrett, Pierzynski slams the plate, bumps into Barrett, Barrett punches Pieryznski, and all hell breaks loose.

But what a lot of people forget is that in that same inning, Tadahito Iguchi slammed the Cubs.

After the brawl, Scott Podsednik reached base against Cubs starter Rich Hill to bring up Iguchi, who promptly ripped a grand slam to left to put the White Sox up 5-0.

It was retaliation at its finest: results on the field.

The White Sox were on top of the town on May 20, 2006. The timing of Iguchi's grand slam cemented that.

Article posted via www.examiner.com.

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