 Back
to Fenway Park they go. Just the Red Sox being the Red Sox. They
have plenty of practice at these postseason comebacks.
"We weren't trying to win three games in one night," Kevin Youkilis
said. "We were just going out there and fight and do whatever we had
to do to win."
Youkilis set the tone with a first-inning homer off C.C. Sabathia as
Boston shipped the best-of-seven series back to the heart of Red Sox
Nation to continue a season nearly canned for the cold New England
winter.
Clearly, Ramirez & Co. cared.
"We made it happen," Ramirez said.
In 2004, Boston rallied from an 0-3 deficit to win the 2004 ALCS
against the New York Yankees and went on to sweep the St. Louis
Cardinals in four straight for its first World Series title since
1918.
The Red Sox forced Game 6 on Saturday night, and will turn to Curt
Schilling, 9-3 in 17 career postseason starts, against Fausto
Carmona.
Boston still trails 3-2, but if not for Beckett, the calm, cool and
cocky 20-game winner, their would be no more baseball until spring.
"Josh is unbelievable," Youkilis said. "This year has been
unbelievable for him and we hope he wins the Cy Young. He's shown
here in the playoffs why he should."
In the late innings, drummer John Adams, whose tom-tom beat has
pulsated through a special season at Jacobs Field, slumped against
his instrument as the Red Sox tacked on runs. Meanwhile, in the
Boston bullpen, two relievers used water bottles to playfully bang
on backup catcher Doug Mirabelli's shinguards.
The 27-year-old Beckett, who beat Cleveland in the opener, once
again came through with the stakes at their highest.
The right-hander allowed only a run and three hits in the first, and
only five total hits in eight innings. He struck out 11, walked one
and was around the plate with almost every one of his 109 pitches.
"He's got something others don't have," third baseman Mike Lowell
said. "There is a different feel for us when he takes the mound.
Time and time again he comes through."
Beckett, who with each start carves his name deeper among the
postseason pitching elite, is no stranger to comebacks.
In 2003, he pitched a two-hitter for Florida in Game 5 of the NLCS
as the Marlins rallied from a 3-1 deficit to eliminate the Chicago
Cubs. Then, pitching on just three days' rest in Game 6 of the World
Series at Yankee Stadium, he allowed five hits in a 2-0 win and was
picked as MVP.
If the Red Sox can win two more, he might have another trophy for
his mantle.
"We know we have to do now," said Beckett, 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA this
October. "This is not where we want to be, but obviously, we're
inching closer to where we want to be."
The Indians missed a chance to advance to the World Series for the
first time since 1997, and will have to find a way to avoid being
the latest Cleveland team to come close but not win it all.
Cleveland, which hasn't won the Series since 1948, had won three
straight to seemingly take control. But the Indians, trying to
clinch a pennant at home for the first time, could do little against
Beckett, who rarely shook off a sign from Varitek and kept hitters
guessing with a rocket fastball and knee-buckling curve.
"He's the best," David Ortiz said. "We were confident with him going
out there. He was unbelievable. It was one of the best pitching
performances I've seen."
The Indians fell apart at the seams.
Even their rock-solid bullpen cracked for the first time. Boston
added three runs in the eighth on three walks, a throwing error by
reliever Rafael Perez, a passed ball and a sacrifice fly.
"Beating Boston four in a row is tough to do," Indians manager Eric
Wedge said.
With so much on the line, both teams were on edge and tempers flared
briefly in the fifth when Beckett and Lofton screamed at each other.
Cleveland's outfielder had flipped his bat to the ground after what
he thought was ball four, and when Beckett retired him on a fly, the
pair exchanged words and both benches and bullpens emptied.
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The two got into a similar argument two years ago, when Lofton was with
Philadelphia and Beckett with Florida.
"It goes back a way," Beckett said. "Those things have a way of working
themselves out."
No punches were thrown, and if Lofton was trying to rattle Beckett, he
didn't.
"He doesn't like it when I take my bat and flip it," Lofton said. "He's
the only pitcher who's had a problem with it. He was saying stuff I
didn't like, and I said something back."
Beckett then struck out Franklin Gutierrez looking before Casey Blake
singled and went to third when Grady Sizemore's single. But Beckett
fanned Asdrubal Cabrera on three pitches, and the rookie smacked his bat
on the plate in disgust.
For Sabathia, the Indians' ace and leader, it was more disappointment.
He allowed four runs and 10 hits in six-plus innings, his third straight
sub-par performance this month.
Sabathia was angry with himself following Game 1 for not being more
aggressive with Boston's hitters, and when he couldn't put David Ortiz
away with two outs in the third, Ramirez made him pay.
A day after he rankled Red Sox fans by saying "Who cares?" if Boston
were to lose, the enigmatic slugger struck back.
Ramirez sent Sabathia's first pitch to center, where Sizemore went back
to the wall. But as he reached up, Ramirez's shot caromed back onto the
field.
Ortiz scored easily, but Ramirez, thinking his shot was long gone, was
only rounding first when the Indians retrieved the ball. Boston manager
Terry Francona argued it should have been a two-run homer, but after a
brief meeting, the umpires kept Ramirez at first.
Slow-motion TV replays were inconclusive, and the ground rules at Jacobs
Field state that a ball must completely clear the yellow line at the top
of the wall for it to be a homer.
Whatever the outcome, it was Manny being Manny -- again.
The funky, fun-loving outfielder irritated some of the Indians when he
posed to admire a homer in Game 4, even though his 451-foot shot had
only brought Boston within 7-3.
The Indians insisted it wasn't intentional, but the club invited country
singer Danielle Peck, an ex-girlfriend of Beckett's, to sing the
national anthem and "God Bless America" on the night her former beau
took the mound.
Peck was a fill-in for another singer, but her appearance didn't seem to
break Beckett's concentration.
"I don't get paid to make those (expletive) decisions," Beckett barked.
"She's a friend of mine, that doesn't bother me at all. Thanks for
flying one of my friends to the game so she could watch it for free."
The Red Sox went up 4-1 and chased Sabathia in the seventh. After
handing the ball to Wedge, the big lefty walked dejectedly to the dugout
knowing he had missed a chance to get the Indians back to the Series.
"I don't think we're going into Boston on a downer," he said. "I can
live with this. I thought I made some good pitches."
Notes: Schilling flew back before the game to get ready for his start.
... Olympic figure skating champion Scott Hamilton, a native of Bowling
Green, Ohio, threw out the ceremonial pitch, a wild one that would have
received poor artistic marks from judges. ... Beckett went 16 2-3
innings without a walk this postseason before issuing one in the second.
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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