ANAHEIM, Calif. - These Chicago White Sox are a team from another age.

Perhaps from 1959, when Nellie Fox and the Go-Go Sox won the AL pennant.

Or maybe 1919, when Shoeless Joe Jackson's "Black Sox" dumped the World Series.

Jose Contreras pitched a five-hitter for Chicago's fourth straight complete game, and the White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-3 on Sunday night to win the AL championship series in five games.

Four straight complete games? In this era, when relievers parade to the mound at a record rate?

"In the end, our pitching was amazing. I don't know if you'll ever see it again," said catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who again wound up in the middle of a controversial call that went Chicago's way.

Four major league teams - Baltimore, Texas, Tampa Bay and Cincinnati - didn't even have four complete games all season.

Not since the 1956 New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers behind five straight complete games from Whitey Ford, Tom Sturdivant, Don Larsen (his perfect game), Bob Turley and Johnny Kucks had a staff thrown as many as four in a row in a postseason series.

The White Sox hadn't pitched four straight complete games since Sept. 21-26, 1974, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, when Wilbur Wood, Jim Kaat, Kaat again (following a three-day layoff) and Bart Johnson strung them together.

Pitching in drizzle on an un-Californialike night, Contreras retired his final 15 batters. He followed Mark Buehrle's five-hitter in Game 2, Jon Garland's four-hitter in Game 3 and Freddy Garcia's six-hitter in Game 4.

"You might call it lucky, you might call it great, but we stepped it up," Contreras said through a translator.

The White Sox will get two days off before resuming workouts and will take on either Houston or St. Louis, starting at home Saturday night.

After nearly a half-century of ho-hum baseball, the White Sox will get a chance at their first title since 1917.

And they will get a shot at some long overdue redemption - they lost the most infamous World Series ever, when Shoeless Joe and his "Black Sox" threw games against Cincinnati in 1919 and gave the sport a black eye.

The 46-year gap between Series appearances is the longest in major league history. The Chicago Cubs would end up with an even longer one, if they ever get back - their last NL pennant was in 1945.

"It finally puts us above the Cubs, because they've been getting all the credit," said bench coach Harold Baines, who played more than 13 of his 22 seasons with the White Sox.

The last time the Windy City's South Side team made it this far, the Go-Go Sox lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a six-game Series.

"I still can't believe it," said White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who once said he would trade all six NBA titles won by his Chicago Bulls for one World Series championship. "I'm numb right now. Honest to God, it hasn't sunk in. I think something really good is happening, but I'm not sure what it is."

It's pitching, that's what.

"I think it's great because we proved a lot of people wrong, and I think I like that," said manager Ozzie Guillen, who at 41 wasn't even born when the White Sox last made it to the World Series.

It was complete domination - Chicago's bullpen was needed for just seven pitches the whole series - two outs by Neal Cotts in the opener.

"It seemed like they were competing against each other, trying to one-up each other," general manager Ken Williams said. "You hope to get one (complete game) and give your bullpen a rest, but this is ridiculous."

Chicago held the Angels to a .175 batting average and 11 runs. Los Angeles had just 27 hits - the fewest in any LCS going five games or longer - and 2004 AL MVP Vladimir Guerrero was 1-for-20 (.050) at the plate.

"I've never seen four horses like that that come out of the gate," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "You might have to go back to Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, that group, or the group Baltimore had in, I guess, '66."

Los Angeles was leading 3-2 when Joe Crede hit a leadoff homer in the seventh against loser Kelvim Escobar.

Escobar struck out four in a row, and five overall, before walking Aaron Rowand with two outs in the eighth.

Then, Pierzynski found himself in the middle of another contested call.

In Game 2, he struck out with two outs in the ninth but reached when umpires ruled catcher Josh Paul didn't catch the ball. Crede followed with a winning double that tied the series.

In Game 4, Pierzynski admitted his mitt nicked the bat of Steve Finley, who hit into an inning-ending double play that ended an Angels' rally attempt as umpires failed to make the call.

This time, he hit a comebacker that bounced off Escobar, who instead of throwing to first ran to toward the foul line to make a tag play. He tagged Pierzynski with his glove - but the ball wasn't there, it was in his bare right hand.

"I tried to get the ball in the glove. I didn't have a chance," Escobar said. "Everything seemed to go their way."

Pierzynski initially was called out, but Guillen argued and the umpires reversed the call after a conference, bringing Scioscia out for a dispute.

"They got the call right," Scioscia acknowledged.

Los Angeles then brought in closer Francisco Rodriguez to face Crede. K-Rod threw a 1-2 breaking ball that the crowd thought was strike three, but was called a ball by plate umpire Ed Rapuano.

"I think it was close enough to call the pitch," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez threw another ball, pushing the count to 3-2, and Crede hit a perfectly placed slow grounder up the middle as many fans in the crowd of 44,712 gasped as Rowand scored the go-ahead run.

ALCS MVP Paul Konerko added a run-scoring double in the ninth and Rowand had a sacrifice fly.

It was the sixth AL pennant for the White Sox, who have won the Series just twice. After the opener, the Angels held a lead at the end of only two innings.

"They took it to us pretty good," Kennedy said. "Whatever the controversy, they took advantage of it. They took advantage of everything they got."