updated 1:38 a.m. ET Oct. 27, 2005

HOUSTON - Ten, 11, 12, 13 innings. No one could break through.

Not the Chicago White Sox, who waited 46 years to get back to the World Series. Not the Houston Astros, who’ve never been here before.

Finally, in the 14th inning, after 5 hours and 41 minutes, former Astro Geoff Blum won the longest game in World Series history with a tiebreaking, two-out solo homer, and Chicago beat Houston 7-5 Wednesday morning to move within a win of a sweep and its first title since 1917.

“It’s the stuff dreams are made of,” Blum said. “I’ve had about a 100 of these at-bats in the backyard with my younger brother.”

Long after Chicago overcame a 4-0 deficit with five runs in the fifth inning against Roy Oswalt and Jason Lane hit a tying double for Houston in the eighth off Dustin Hermanson, Blum batted for the first time in a World Series with two outs in the 14th and faced Ezequiel Astacio, Houston’s seventh pitcher.

With nearly all the fans remaining from the original crowd of 42,848 in Minute Maid Park, Blum sent a 2-0 pitch down the right-field line, and the ball sailed over the wall.

“As soon as I hit it, I knew it was high enough to get out,” Blum said. “I don’t think I blinked or looked at anybody until I made it (to) home plate and knew it was for real.”

Slide show   White Sox win! Click to see images from Chicago's sweep of Houston Astros in 2005 World Series.

The White Sox picked up Blum from San Diego on July 31, right before the trading deadline. A starter with Houston in 2002-03, he’s been mostly a backup since then and entered the game in the 13th as part of a double-switch. He’s had quite a year — his wife, Kory, gave birth to triplets on May 3.

“I think it came to a head when the ball went out of the ballpark,” he said.

While Blum was circling the bases in joy, Houston manager Phil Garner slammed a stool in the dugout.

“Unfortunately, that pitch got away from me,” Astacio said.

Astacio allowed Chicago to load the bases on two infield singles and a walk, then forced in a run by walking Chris Widger on a 3-2 pitch.

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Houston put runners at the corners in the bottom half against winner Damaso Marte when Orlando Palmeiro walked with one out and Brad Ausmus reached when shortstop Juan Uribe misplayed his two-out grounder for an error.

Mark Buehrle, who pitched seven innings in Game 2 on Sunday night, came in, Chicago’s ninth pitcher and the 17th of the game, both Series records.

Adam Everett then popped to shortstop for the final out at 1:20 a.m. local time. The previous longest game was 4:51 when the Yankees beat the Mets in 12 innings in Game 1 in 2000. This matched the longest by innings, a Babe Ruth complete game for the Boston Red Sox against Brooklyn in 1914.

There were 482 pitches, 245 by the White Sox and 237 by the Astros.

“Who told me baseball was easy?” Astros owner Drayton McLane said.

Freddy Garcia tries to complete the sweep for Chicago on Wednesday night, opposed by Brandon Backe. No team has ever overcome a 3-0 World Series deficit, and only one major league team has done it in any round of the postseason — the Boston Red Sox in last year’s AL championship series against the New York Yankees.

“All three of these games — up and down,” Chicago catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. “You think you’re going to lose, you think you’re going to win. It’s been incredible. It’s been a crazy Series.”

Houston, which got only one hit after the fourth inning, stranded 15 runners. The Astros left the potential winning run at third base in the ninth and at second base in the 10th and 11th.

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“It’s some pretty poor hitting, absolute rotten hitting,” Garner said. “We might have played 40 innings and it didn’t look (like) we were going to get a runner across.”

Houston escaped a two-on, two-outs jam in the 11th when Chad Qualls retired pinch-hitter Timo Perez on a groundout and eliminated possible trouble in the 13th when Scott Podsednik bunted into a double play with no outs. Paul Konerko grounded into a double play just before Blum’s homer.

In the first World Series game played in the state of Texas, a sellout crowd of 42,848 filled Minute Maid Park with plenty of noise — but less than the Astros had hoped for. Against the wishes of the home team, Major League Baseball ordered the retractable roof open for the game because the skies were cloudless and the temperature a comfortable 61 degrees at game time. Houston wanted the roof closed, to increase the decibels.

Oswalt, 3-0 in the postseason coming in, couldn’t hold the 4-0 lead, allowing five runs in a 46-pitch fifth inning — the most pitches he’s thrown in an inning in his career. He gave up five runs, eight hits and five walks in six-plus innings, the most runs he’s allowed at home since the season opener against St. Louis on April 5.

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