White Sox one victory from Series berth

? Freddy Garcia made it three in a row for the Chicago White Sox.

And with the finest trio of postseason pitching performances in more than three decades, the White Sox are on the verge on making it back to the World Series at long last.

Garcia pitched a six-hitter, Paul Konerko homered in the first inning for the second straight night as Chicago beat the Los Angeles Angels, 8-2, Saturday to take a 3-1 lead in the AL championship series.

“Our pitching has set the tone for us all season long,” Konerko said.

And what a tone!

Garcia nearly duplicated Mark Buehrle’s five-hitter and Jon Garland’s four-hitter, making the White Sox the first team to pitch three straight complete games in the postseason since the 1973 New York Mets got stellar starts from Tom Seaver, Jon Matlack and Jerry Koosman to open the NLCS against Cincinnati.

“I tried to follow those guys,” Garcia said of his rotation mates.

The Angels are batting .177 in the series, with a total of 22 hits.

“It’s half them and half us,” Angels infielder Adam Kennedy said. “They’ve got some great pitchers, but at the same time, we stink right now at the plate. And if we keep doing that, tomorrow is the last day.”

Seeking its first World Series title since 1917 and its first appearance since 1959, Chicago can wrap up the AL pennant tonight when Jose Contreras pitches against Paul Byrd in a rematch of Game 1 starters.

“I don’t think I have the words to describe what that city is going to be like if we’re able to pull that off,” White Sox leadoff man Scott Podsednik said.

Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen would prefer the series end tonight.

“I always say, don’t let the monster wake up,” he said.

Of course, there were a couple of lucky breaks from the umps sprinkled in. A checked swing in the first inning, a catcher’s-interference call that wasn’t made in the second and a pickoff play in the fifth all went against Los Angeles.

“I don’t think the umpiring in this game is why we’re behind 3-1,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

A.J. Pierzynski also homered for the White Sox, his third of the postseason, and Joe Crede added a two-run single in the eighth off Esteban Yan. That was more than enough offense for Chicago – its pitchers have given up just eight runs in the series and 17 in seven postseason games.

“This is beyond what I was expecting,” White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper said. “It’s pretty amazing. I don’t know, maybe I should stop being amazed by these guys.”

Garcia pitched for the first time since the division series clincher against Boston on Oct. 7 and the first time since his daughter Sophia was born Wednesday. He needed just eight pitches to get his first four outs.

While the Windy City team found its power stroke on the West Coast, some of Los Angeles’ leading lights have flamed out: Vladimir Guerrero, the 2004 AL MVP, is hitting .063 (1-for-16), with cleanup hitter Garret Anderson at .133 (2-for-15) and Bengie Molina at .154 (2-for-13). The three have combined for three RBIs, and Guerrero, who grounded out four times, repeatedly was booed.