GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: CLEVELAND (3-3) at BOSTON (3-3)

AL: CLEVELAND at BOSTON

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CLEVELAND 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 10 1
BOSTON 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 6 x 11 15 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: CLE - JAKE WESTBROOK, RAFAEL BETANCOURT (7TH), JENSEN LEWIS (8TH)
AND VICTOR MARTINEZ

BOS - DAISUKE MATSUZAKA, HIDEKI OKAJIMA (6TH), JONATHAN
PAPELBON (8TH) AND JASON VARITEK


WP - DAISUKE MATSUZAKA (1-1)
LP - JAKE WESTBROOK (1-1)
SAVE - JONATHAN PAPELBON (1)

HOME RUNS: CLE - NONE

BOS - DUSTIN PEDROIA (1) OFF RAFAEL BETANCOURT IN THE 7TH, 1 ON
KEVIN YOUKILIS (3) OFF JENSEN LEWIS IN THE 8TH, 1 ON


TIME: 3:33 ATT: 37,165

PROBABLES:</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at BOSTON

<div class="pre">CLEVELAND (2) VS BOSTON (11) - FINAL

CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 3 0 1 1 0 1 2 .222
A Cabrera 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .241
T Hafner dh 4 1 1 0 0 2 2 .148
V Martinez c 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .296
R Garko 1b 4 0 1 1 0 0 2 .292
J Peralta ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .259
K Lofton lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .222
F Gutierrez rf 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 .211
C Blake 3b 4 0 2 0 0 0 3 .346

Totals 35 2 10 2 0 4 15

BATTING: 2B - T Hafner (1, D Matsuzaka); R Garko (2, D Matsuzaka). SF - G
Sizemore. RBI - R Garko (2), G Sizemore (2). 2-out RBI - R Garko. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - J Peralta 1, R Garko 1, G Sizemore 1. GIDP - C
Blake. Team LOB - 7.

FIELDING: E - C Blake (1, ground ball). DP: 3 (J Peralta-A Cabrera-R Garko 2,
A Cabrera-R Garko).


BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D Pedroia 2b 5 3 3 5 0 0 2 .345
K Youkilis 1b 5 2 3 2 0 1 0 .500
D Ortiz dh 5 0 0 0 0 2 2 .292
M Ramirez lf 3 0 1 1 1 1 0 .409
C Crisp cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143
M Lowell 3b 3 1 2 1 0 1 1 .333
J Drew rf 4 1 1 1 0 0 4 .360
J Varitek c 4 2 3 0 0 1 0 .269
J Ellsbury cf-lf 3 2 1 0 1 0 1 .250
J Lugo ss 3 0 1 0 0 1 4 .200

Totals 35 11 15 10 2 7 14

BATTING: 2B - J Varitek 2 (3, J Westbrook, R Betancourt); K Youkilis (1, J
Westbrook); M Lowell (2, R Betancourt); D Pedroia (3, R Betancourt). HR - D
Pedroia (1, 7th inning off R Betancourt 1 on, 1 Out), K Youkilis (3, 8th inning
off J Lewis 1 on, 2 Out). S - J Lugo. SF - M Lowell. RBI - M Ramirez (10), M
Lowell (8), D Pedroia 5 (5), J Drew (6), K Youkilis 2 (7). 2-out RBI - D
Pedroia 3, K Youkilis 2. GIDP - J Drew, J Lugo, D Pedroia. Team LOB - 4.

FIELDING: E - J Lugo (1, pop up). Outfield assists - M Ramirez (K Lofton at
2nd base). DP: 1 (M Lowell-D Pedroia-K Youkilis).


----------------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND - 000 110 000 -- 2
BOSTON - 111 000 26x -- 11
----------------------------------------------------

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
J Westbrook (L, 1-1) 6 9 3 3 1 5 0 3.55
R Betancourt 1 2/3 5 7 6 1 1 1 6.75
J Lewis 1/3 1 1 1 0 1 1 6.35

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
D Matsuzaka (W, 1-1) 5 6 2 2 0 3 0 5.59
H Okajima (H, 1) 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
J Papelbon (S, 1) 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00

H Okajima pitched to 2 batters in the 8th.

WP - D Matsuzaka. IBB - M Ramirez (by J Westbrook), J Ellsbury (by R
Betancourt). Pitches-strikes: J Westbrook 94-56; R Betancourt 41-29; J Lewis
9-6; D Matsuzaka 88-61; H Okajima 25-18; J Papelbon 16-15. Ground balls-fly
balls: J Westbrook 10-3; R Betancourt 2-2; J Lewis 0-0; D Matsuzaka 5-6; H
Okajima 3-3; J Papelbon 1-4. Batters faced: J Westbrook 25; R Betancourt 12; J
Lewis 2; D Matsuzaka 20; H Okajima 9; J Papelbon 7.

UMPIRES: HP--Randy Marsh. 1B--Kerwin Danley. 2B--Brian Gorman. 3B--Paul
Emmel. LF--Gary Cederstrom. RF--Dana Demuth.

T--3:33. Att--37,165.
Weather: 66 degrees, clear. Wind: 12 mph, left to
right.</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at BOSTON

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
CLEVELAND 2
BOSTON 11 FINAL</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at BOSTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLEVELAND (2) AT BOSTON (11) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOSTON 1ST: D Pedroia singled to left. K Youkilis singled to left,
D Pedroia to second. D Ortiz struck out swinging. M Ramirez singled to left
center, D Pedroia scored, K Youkilis to second. M Lowell singled to left,
K Youkilis to third, M Ramirez to second. J Drew grounded into double play,
shortstop to second to first, M Lowell out at second.(1 Run, 4 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 0, BOSTON 1.

BOSTON 2ND: J Varitek doubled to left. J Ellsbury singled to left,
J Varitek to third. J Lugo grounded into double play, shortstop to second to
first, J Varitek scored, J Ellsbury out at second. D Pedroia flied out to left.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 0, BOSTON 2.

BOSTON 3RD: K Youkilis doubled to left. D Ortiz grounded out to first,
K Youkilis to third. M Ramirez intentionally walked. M Lowell hit sacrifice fly
to right, K Youkilis scored. J Drew flied out to left. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 0, BOSTON 3.

CLEVELAND 4TH: A Cabrera popped out to shortstop. T Hafner doubled to
left. V Martinez grounded out to pitcher. R Garko doubled to deep center,
T Hafner scored. J Peralta grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 1, BOSTON 3.

CLEVELAND 5TH: K Lofton singled to left, K Lofton out stretching at second.
F Gutierrez singled to center. C Blake singled to right, F Gutierrez to
third. G Sizemore hit sacrifice fly to center, F Gutierrez scored. A Cabrera
struck out swinging. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, BOSTON 3.

BOSTON 7TH: R Betancourt relieved J Westbrook. J Ellsbury safe at second on
error by third baseman C Blake. J Lugo sacrificed to first, J Ellsbury to
third. D Pedroia homered to left, J Ellsbury scored. K Youkilis grounded out
to shortstop. D Ortiz flied out to left. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 1 Error) CLEVELAND 2,
BOSTON 5.

BOSTON 8TH: M Ramirez popped out to second. M Lowell doubled to center.
J Drew singled to center, M Lowell scored. J Varitek hit a ground rule double to
left, J Drew to third. J Ellsbury intentionally walked. J Lugo struck out
swinging. D Pedroia doubled to center, J Drew, J Varitek and J Ellsbury
scored. J Lewis relieved R Betancourt. K Youkilis homered to left, D Pedroia
scored. D Ortiz struck out swinging. (6 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2,
BOSTON 11.</div>

 

Re: AL: CLEVELAND (3-3) at BOSTON (3-3)

Damn, i wanted Cleveland to win. Talk about choking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at BOSTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLEVELAND (2) AT BOSTON (11) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cleveland Starting Lineups -- G Sizemore CF, A Cabrera 2B, T Hafner DH,
V Martinez C, R Garko 1B, J Peralta SS, K Lofton LF, F Gutierrez RF, C Blake 3B,
J Westbrook RHP.

Boston Starting Lineups -- D Pedroia 2B, K Youkilis 1B, D Ortiz DH, M Ramirez LF,
M Lowell 3B, J Drew RF, J Varitek C, J Ellsbury CF, J Lugo SS, D Matsuzaka RHP.

Umpires -- Randy Marsh (HP), Kerwin Danley (1B), Brian Gorman (2B), Paul Emmel (3B),
Gary Cederstrom (LF), Dana Demuth (RF).

Gametime Weather: 66 degrees, Clear, wind left to right at 12 mph.


CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore popped out to second. A Cabrera grounded out to
second. T Hafner struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 0,
BOSTON 0.

BOSTON 1ST: D Pedroia singled to left. K Youkilis singled to left,
D Pedroia to second. D Ortiz struck out swinging. M Ramirez singled to left
center, D Pedroia scored, K Youkilis to second. M Lowell singled to left,
K Youkilis to third, M Ramirez to second. J Drew grounded into double play,
shortstop to second to first, M Lowell out at second.(1 Run, 4 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 0, BOSTON 1.

CLEVELAND 2ND: V Martinez lined out to third. R Garko grounded out to
third. J Peralta grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 0,
BOSTON 1.

BOSTON 2ND: J Varitek doubled to left. J Ellsbury singled to left,
J Varitek to third. J Lugo grounded into double play, shortstop to second to
first, J Varitek scored, J Ellsbury out at second. D Pedroia flied out to left.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 0, BOSTON 2.

CLEVELAND 3RD: K Lofton flied out to right. F Gutierrez popped out to
second. C Blake singled to center. C Blake to second on wild pitch by
D Matsuzaka. G Sizemore struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 0,
BOSTON 2.

BOSTON 3RD: K Youkilis doubled to left. D Ortiz grounded out to first,
K Youkilis to third. M Ramirez intentionally walked. M Lowell hit sacrifice fly
to right, K Youkilis scored. J Drew flied out to left. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 0, BOSTON 3.

CLEVELAND 4TH: A Cabrera popped out to shortstop. T Hafner doubled to
left. V Martinez grounded out to pitcher. R Garko doubled to deep center,
T Hafner scored. J Peralta grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 1, BOSTON 3.

BOSTON 4TH: J Varitek singled to left center. J Ellsbury grounded into
fielder's choice to first, J Varitek out at second. J Lugo singled to center,
J Ellsbury to third. D Pedroia grounded into double play, second to first,
J Lugo out at second.(0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 1, BOSTON 3.

CLEVELAND 5TH: K Lofton singled to left, K Lofton out stretching at second.
F Gutierrez singled to center. C Blake singled to right, F Gutierrez to
third. G Sizemore hit sacrifice fly to center, F Gutierrez scored. A Cabrera
struck out swinging. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, BOSTON 3.

BOSTON 5TH: K Youkilis struck out swinging. D Ortiz grounded out to
shortstop. M Ramirez struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2,
BOSTON 3.

CLEVELAND 6TH: H Okajima relieved D Matsuzaka. T Hafner flied out to left.
V Martinez flied out to right. R Garko grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, BOSTON 3.

BOSTON 6TH: M Lowell struck out looking. J Drew grounded out to second.
J Varitek struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, BOSTON 3.

CLEVELAND 7TH: J Peralta flied out to right. K Lofton safe at second on
error by shortstop J Lugo. F Gutierrez singled to left, K Lofton to third.
C Blake grounded into double play, third to second to first, F Gutierrez out at
second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 1 Error) CLEVELAND 2, BOSTON 3.

BOSTON 7TH: R Betancourt relieved J Westbrook. J Ellsbury safe at second on
error by third baseman C Blake. J Lugo sacrificed to first, J Ellsbury to
third. D Pedroia homered to left, J Ellsbury scored. K Youkilis grounded out
to shortstop. D Ortiz flied out to left. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 1 Error) CLEVELAND 2,
BOSTON 5.

CLEVELAND 8TH: G Sizemore reached on bunt single to first. A Cabrera
singled to center, G Sizemore to second. J Papelbon relieved H Okajima.
T Hafner struck out swinging. V Martinez grounded into fielder's choice to
second, A Cabrera out at second, G Sizemore to third. R Garko flied out to
center. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, BOSTON 5.

BOSTON 8TH: M Ramirez popped out to second. M Lowell doubled to center.
J Drew singled to center, M Lowell scored. J Varitek hit a ground rule double to
left, J Drew to third. J Ellsbury intentionally walked. J Lugo struck out
swinging. D Pedroia doubled to center, J Drew, J Varitek and J Ellsbury
scored. J Lewis relieved R Betancourt. K Youkilis homered to left, D Pedroia
scored. D Ortiz struck out swinging. (6 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2,
BOSTON 11.

CLEVELAND 9TH: C Crisp in center field. J Ellsbury in left field. J Peralta
singled to left. K Lofton lined out to left. F Gutierrez flied out to center.
C Blake flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, BOSTON 11.</div>

 

Dice-K, Pedroia step up, lead Red Sox to the World Series

<h3>BOSTON 11, CLEVELAND 2</h3>By Tom Covill
PA SportsTicker Staff Writer


BOSTON (Ticker) -- When it mattered the most, Daisuke Matsuzakastepped up.


Matsuzaka outdueled a game Jake Westbrook for five innings andthe bullpen took over from there, leading the Boston Red Sox toan 11-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians and a date with theColorado Rockies in the World Series.


Dustin Pedroia homered and Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell drovein a run a piece for the Red Sox, who overcame a three games toone deficit to win the American League Championship Series andadvance to the Fall Classic for the 11th time in franchisehistory.


Game One of the World Series is here on Wednesday.

Spurred on by a raucous home crowd, Matsuzaka retired the firsteight batters he faced before Casey Blake singled in the third.The Japanese righthander, who came into the game with a 2-5record and a 7.05 ERA in his last 10 starts, including a loss inGame Three in Cleveland, found his command early, challengingthe Indians hitters with a fastball that touched 95 miles perhour.


Matsuzaka threw 61 of his 88 pitches for strikes, and did notwalk a batter for the first time since May 30. He was liftedafter five innings, having yielded two runs and six hits whilestriking out three.


The Boston offense rewarded Matsuzaka for his efforts withsingle runs in each of the first three frames.


With the Fenway Park crowd derisively chanting his name,Westbrook surrendered back-to-back singles to Dustin Pedroia andKevin Youkilis in the first. After David Ortiz struck outswinging, Ramirez battled back from an 0-2 count and plated thefirst run of the game with a single.


Ramirez entered the game 9-for-18 in his career againstWestbrook and went 1-for-2 with an intentional walk against theIndians' righthander on Sunday.


Mike Lowell followed with a single in the first to load thebases, but Westbrook got Game Six hero J.D. Drew to ground intoa double play to end the threat.


Jason Varitek led off the second with a double high off the"Green Monster" in left-center field and moved to third onrookie Jacoby Ellsbury's single. Westbrook then forced JulioLugo to ground into a double play, but Varitek came in fromthird to stake Matsuzaka to a 2-0 advantage.


The Red Sox added a run in the third when Lowell knocked asacrifice fly to right field with the bases loaded.

Westbrook, who stymied the Boston hitters in Game Three withexceptional command of the strike zone, finally found hisrhythm in the fourth and retired the last seven batters hefaced before exiting after the sixth. The veteran sinkerballwas charged with three runs and nine hits in six innings, whilestriking out five and walking one.


Cleveland nabbed a run in the fourth on a pair of wall-balldoubles by Travis Hafner and Ryan Garko, and cut the Red Sox'slead to 3-2 when Grady Sizemore hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield, scoring Franklin Gutierrez.


With the go-ahead run at the plate, Matsuzaka won a nine-pitchbattle with Indians rookie Asdrubal Cabrera, striking out theyoung second baseman to end the fifth.


From there the Boston bullpen, which was tops in the majors inERA during the regular season, took over. Lefthander HidekiOkajima was the first out of the pen, shutting down the side inorder in the sixth.


Okajima ran into trouble in the seventh, but a baserunning gaffeby veteran Kenny Lofton and Cleveland third base coach JoelSkinner kept the Red Sox in the lead.


With one out, Lofton lifted a popup to left field which Lugodropped, allowing Lofton to reach second base. Gutierrezfollowed with a shot over the third base bag, but Skinner heldLofton at third, despite the fact that Ramirez - playing leftfield - had yet to retrieve the ball when Lofton was roundingthe bag.


Blake grounded into a double play to end the inning.

It was the second time in the game that Lofton was faked out byRamirez, who threw him out at second base trying to stretch asingle leading off the fifth.


Pedroia provided some breathing room in the bottom of theseventh, blasting a two-run shots into the "Green Monster" seatsfor a 5-2 advantage.


The Indians threatened again in the eighth, and again were cutdown by a combination of Boston's bullpen and defense.

After Okajima allowed the first two batters to reach, closerJonathon Papelbon was called on to face slugger Travis Hafner.Papelbon struck out the big designated hitter and forcedAll-Star Victor Martinez into a fielder's choice for the secondout.


With the tying run at the plate in the form of Garko, Papelbonleft a pitch up that was hammered deep to right field.Ellsbury, streaking over from center, caught the ball just infront of the Boston bullpen to protect the lead.


Papelbon was credit with the save, his first in his postseasoncareer.


Pedroia, who entered the contest without an RBI in 24 ALCSat-bats, hit a bases clearing double to blow the game open inthe eighth, giving him five for the game.


The Red Sox tacked on six more in the bottom of the eighth,capped off by Youkilis' two-run blast off the Coke bottles highabove the left field wall, en route to becoming the seventh teamin League Championship history to erase a three game to onedeficit and win the series.


This is the third time the Boston franchise has accomplished thefeat, doing it in 1986 against the Angels and coming back fromdown three games to none to beat the New York Yankees in 2004.

 

Re: AL: CLEVELAND (3-3) at BOSTON (3-3)

YEAHHHHHH</p>

What a win lol.</p>

GO BOSTON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>

 

Dice-K, Pedroia step up, lead Red Sox to the World Series

<h3>BOSTON 11, CLEVELAND 2</h3>By Tom Covill
PA SportsTicker Staff Writer


BOSTON (Ticker) -- When it mattered the most, Daisuke Matsuzakastepped up.


Matsuzaka outdueled a game Jake Westbrook for five innings andthe bullpen took over from there, leading the Boston Red Sox toan 11-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians and a date with theColorado Rockies in the World Series.


Dustin Pedroia homered and Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell drovein a run a piece for the Red Sox, who overcame a three games toone deficit to win the American League Championship Series andadvance to the Fall Classic for the 11th time in franchisehistory.


Game One of the World Series is here on Wednesday.

"We started clicking at the right time," Pedroia said. "Whenyour back is against the wall, you find out what kind of teamyou have. Everybody kept believing."


Spurred on by a raucous home crowd, Matsuzaka retired the firsteight batters he faced before Casey Blake singled in the third.The Japanese righthander, who came into the game with a 2-5record and a 7.05 ERA in his last 10 starts, including a loss inGame Three in Cleveland, found his command early, challengingthe Indians hitters with a fastball that touched 95 miles perhour.


Matsuzaka threw 61 of his 88 pitches for strikes, and did notwalk a batter for the first time since May 30. He was liftedafter five innings, having yielded two runs and six hits whilestriking out three.


The Boston offense rewarded Matsuzaka for his efforts withsingle runs in each of the first three frames.


With the Fenway Park crowd derisively chanting his name,Westbrook surrendered back-to-back singles to Dustin Pedroia andKevin Youkilis in the first. After David Ortiz struck outswinging, Ramirez battled back from an 0-2 count and plated thefirst run of the game with a single.


Ramirez entered the game 9-for-18 in his career againstWestbrook and went 1-for-2 with an intentional walk against theIndians' righthander on Sunday.


Mike Lowell followed with a single in the first to load thebases, but Westbrook got Game Six hero J.D. Drew to ground intoa double play to end the threat.


Jason Varitek led off the second with a double high off the"Green Monster" in left-center field and moved to third onrookie Jacoby Ellsbury's single. Westbrook then forced JulioLugo to ground into a double play, but Varitek came in fromthird to stake Matsuzaka to a 2-0 advantage.


The Red Sox added a run in the third when Lowell knocked asacrifice fly to right field with the bases loaded.

Westbrook, who stymied the Boston hitters in Game Three withexceptional command of the strike zone, finally found his rhythmin the fourth and retired the last seven batters he facedbefore exiting after the sixth. The veteran sinkerball wascharged with three runs and nine hits in six innings, whilestriking out five and walking one.


Cleveland nabbed a run in the fourth on a pair of wall-balldoubles by Travis Hafner and Ryan Garko, and cut the Red Sox'slead to 3-2 when Grady Sizemore hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield, scoring Franklin Gutierrez.


With the go-ahead run at the plate, Matsuzaka won a nine-pitchbattle with Indians rookie Asdrubal Cabrera, striking out theyoung second baseman to end the fifth.


From there the Boston bullpen, which was tops in the majors inERA during the regular season, took over. Lefthander HidekiOkajima was the first out of the pen, shutting down the side inorder in the sixth.


Okajima ran into trouble in the seventh, but a baserunning gaffeby veteran Kenny Lofton and Cleveland third base coach JoelSkinner kept the Red Sox in the lead.


With one out, Lofton lifted a popup to left field which Lugodropped, allowing Lofton to reach second base. Gutierrezfollowed with a shot over the third base bag, but Skinner heldLofton at third, despite the fact that Ramirez - playing leftfield - had yet to retrieve the ball when Lofton was roundingthe bag.


Blake grounded into a double play to end the inning.

It was the second time in the game that Lofton was faked out byRamirez, who threw him out at second base trying to stretch asingle leading off the fifth.


Pedroia provided some breathing room in the bottom of theseventh, blasting a two-run shots into the "Green Monster" seatsfor a 5-2 advantage.


The Indians threatened again in the eighth, and again were cutdown by a combination of Boston's bullpen and defense.

After Okajima allowed the first two batters to reach, closerJonathon Papelbon was called on to face slugger Travis Hafner.Papelbon struck out the big designated hitter and forcedAll-Star Victor Martinez into a fielder's choice for the secondout.


With the tying run at the plate in the form of Garko, Papelbonleft a pitch up that was hammered deep to right field. Ellsbury,streaking over from center, caught the ball just in front ofthe Boston bullpen to protect the lead.


Papelbon was credit with the save, his first in his postseasoncareer.


Pedroia, who entered the contest without an RBI in 24 ALCSat-bats, hit a bases clearing double to blow the game open inthe eighth, giving him five for the game.


The Red Sox tacked on six more in the bottom of the eighth,capped off by Youkilis' two-run blast off the Coke bottles highabove the left field wall, en route to becoming the seventh teamin League Championship history to erase a three game to onedeficit and win the series.


"It's not a good place to be," Boston manager Terry Franconasaid of the 3-1 deficit. "But we didn't give up and we beat avery good team."


This is the third time the Boston franchise has accomplished thefeat, doing it in 1986 against the Angels and coming back fromdown three games to none to beat the New York Yankees in 2004.

"We won three straight games and they won three straight,"cleveland manager Eric Wedge said. "We tried but we just fellshort. They are a great ballclub."

 

Re: AL: CLEVELAND (3-3) at BOSTON (3-3)

Do I care much about baseball? No, not really, but I watched the game from the top of the 6th on and that surely was fun to watch. I'm happy for the Sox, I'm happy for the sake of my uncle's mood, and I'm happy for the city of Boston in general. This could potentially be an unbelievable year in New England. You've got the Red Sox in the World Series, the Patriots still holding their title as the best team in football, and the Celtics back on the map as possible contenders. The Bruins? Who really cares, but I hear they've improved. But what a year this could be...</p>

GO BOSTON!</p>

 

Re: AL: CLEVELAND (3-3) at BOSTON (3-3)

Yea the Bruins are much better this year lol. They just need to make it to the playoffs and then its fair game from there.</p>

Oh yeah, don't forget about the Revolution. They're one of the top teams in MLS. Then there's Boston College.</p>

 

Dice-K, Pedroia step up, lead Red Sox to the World Series

<h3>BOSTON 11, CLEVELAND 2</h3>By Tom Covill
PA SportsTicker Staff Writer


BOSTON (Ticker) -- When it mattered the most, Daisuke Matsuzakastepped up.


Matsuzaka outdueled a game Jake Westbrook for five innings andthe bullpen took over from there, leading the Boston Red Sox toan 11-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians and a date with theColorado Rockies in the World Series.


Dustin Pedroia homered and Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell drovein a run a piece for the Red Sox, who overcame a three games toone deficit to win the American League Championship Series andadvance to the Fall Classic for the 11th time in franchisehistory.


Game One of the World Series is here on Wednesday.

"We started clicking at the right time," Pedroia said. "Whenyour back is against the wall, you find out what kind of teamyou have. Everybody kept believing."


Spurred on by a raucous home crowd, Matsuzaka retired the firsteight batters he faced before Casey Blake singled in the third.The Japanese righthander, who came into the game with a 2-5record and a 7.05 ERA in his last 10 starts, including a loss inGame Three in Cleveland, found his command early, challengingthe Indians hitters with a fastball that touched 95 miles perhour.


Matsuzaka threw 61 of his 88 pitches for strikes, and did notwalk a batter for the first time since May 30. He was liftedafter five innings, having yielded two runs and six hits whilestriking out three.


"My velocity itself was okay, even in my last start, I think,"Matsuzaka said. "But today I wanted to get ahead in the count,and even if I missed a few spots, I wanted to throw with a lotof power, and I think that I was able to do that today."

"He was impressive," Red Sox shortstop Julio Lugo said. "Heknew he had a lot of pressure and he came out and performed.He's a big-time pitcher."


The Boston offense rewarded Matsuzaka for his efforts withsingle runs in each of the first three frames.


He was lifted after five innings, having yielded two runs andsix hits while striking out three.


"After our three straight losses, the team kept telling me toget ready to pitch in Game 7, and I think everybody on this teamworked very well together to bring us into Game 7, and I justwanted to respond as best I could to my teammates today,"Matsuzaka said. "Today, once I was in the game, I tried not toworry about all the small things. I wanted to go out there andswing my arm hard and put my heart into it, and I wanted todisplay that to everybody that was watching."


"(Matsuzaka) did well," Lugo said. "He set the tone for us, Ithink that was the most important thing. In the playoffs, we'llgo to the pen a little early. In the regular season, he'sstaying in there for the sixth or seventh inning."

With the Fenway Park crowd derisively chanting his name,Westbrook surrendered back-to-back singles to Dustin Pedroia andKevin Youkilis in the first. After David Ortiz struck outswinging, Ramirez battled back from an 0-2 count and plated thefirst run of the game with a single.


Ramirez entered the game 9-for-18 in his career againstWestbrook and went 1-for-2 with an intentional walk against theIndians' righthander on Sunday.


Mike Lowell followed with a single in the first to load thebases, but Westbrook got Game Six hero J.D. Drew to ground intoa double play to end the threat.


Jason Varitek led off the second with a double high off the"Green Monster" in left-center field and moved to third onrookie Jacoby Ellsbury's single. Westbrook then forced JulioLugo to ground into a double play, but Varitek came in fromthird to stake Matsuzaka to a 2-0 advantage.


The Red Sox added a run in the third when Lowell knocked asacrifice fly to right field with the bases loaded.

Westbrook, who stymied the Boston hitters in Game Three withexceptional command of the strike zone, finally found his rhythmin the fourth and retired the last seven batters he facedbefore exiting after the sixth. The veteran sinkerball wascharged with three runs and nine hits in six innings, whilestriking out five and walking one.


Cleveland nabbed a run in the fourth on a pair of wall-balldoubles by Travis Hafner and Ryan Garko, and cut the Red Sox'slead to 3-2 when Grady Sizemore hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield, scoring Franklin Gutierrez.


With the go-ahead run at the plate, Matsuzaka won a nine-pitchbattle with Indians rookie Asdrubal Cabrera, striking out theyoung second baseman to end the fifth.


From there the Boston bullpen, which was tops in the majors inERA during the regular season, took over. Lefthander HidekiOkajima was the first out of the pen, shutting down the side inorder in the sixth.


Okajima ran into trouble in the seventh, but a baserunning gaffeby veteran Kenny Lofton and Cleveland third base coach JoelSkinner kept the Red Sox in the lead.


With one out, Lofton lifted a popup to left field which Lugodropped, allowing Lofton to reach second base. Gutierrezfollowed with a shot over the third base bag, but Skinner heldLofton at third, despite the fact that Ramirez - playing leftfield - had yet to retrieve the ball when Lofton was roundingthe bag.


Blake grounded into a double play to end the inning.

"We would have at least liked to have tied it up there," Blakesaid. "It might have changed the complexion of the game, itmight have given us a little more life, a little more momentumbut they beat us tonight."


It was the second time in the game that Lofton was faked out byRamirez, who threw him out at second base trying to stretch asingle leading off the fifth.


Pedroia provided some breathing room in the bottom of theseventh, blasting a two-run shots into the "Green Monster" seatsfor a 5-2 advantage.


The Indians threatened again in the eighth, and again were cutdown by a combination of Boston's bullpen and defense.

After Okajima allowed the first two batters to reach, closerJonathon Papelbon was called on to face slugger Travis Hafner.Papelbon struck out the big designated hitter and forcedAll-Star Victor Martinez into a fielder's choice for the secondout.


With the tying run at the plate in the form of Garko, Papelbonleft a pitch up that was hammered deep to right field. Ellsbury,streaking over from center, caught the ball just in front ofthe Boston bullpen to protect the lead.


Papelbon was credit with the save, his first in his postseasoncareer.


Pedroia, who entered the contest without an RBI in 24 ALCSat-bats, hit a bases clearing double to blow the game open inthe eighth, giving him five for the game.


The Red Sox tacked on six more in the bottom of the eighth,capped off by Youkilis' two-run blast off the Coke bottles highabove the left field wall, en route to becoming the seventh teamin League Championship history to erase a three game to onedeficit and win the series.


"It's not a good place to be," Boston manager Terry Franconasaid of the 3-1 deficit. "But we didn't give up and we beat avery good team."


This is the third time the Boston franchise has accomplished thefeat, doing it in 1986 against the Angels and coming back fromdown three games to none to beat the New York Yankees in 2004.

"We won three straight games and they won three straight,"cleveland manager Eric Wedge said. "We tried but we just fellshort. They are a great ballclub."