<P> Neither team advanced to the post-season in 2006 , but the 2006 World Series again featured teams from the American League Central and National League Central divisions , this time represented by the Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals , respectively . The Cardinals won the World Series in five games , in which manager Tony La Russa became the second manager to win the World Series in both American and National leagues , previously managing the Oakland Athletics to the 1989 World Series championship . Both the White Sox and the Astros were in the Wild Card race until the final weeks of the season , with the White Sox finishing with 90 wins , the Astros with 82 wins . The White Sox made their first post-2005 playoff appearance in 2008 , while the Astros would not return to the postseason until 2015 , their third season as an American League team and would not return to the World Series until 2017 , their fifth season as an American League team . </P>
who did the astros play last time they were in the world series
White Sox