Boston Comeback Edges Tampa Bay: Rays Where BoSox Want Them?
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After the 9-1 and 13-4 drubbings which Tampa Bay put on Boston in games 3 and 4 to take a 3 games to 1 lead in the ALCS, you would expect the guys on any team on the short-end to fold, to go through the motions, to mail-in game 5 and pack it in. But Boston? Not! Trailing 7-0 and coming up in the bottom of the seventh, the Red Sox had the Rays right where they wanted them.
AP Sports Writer Jimmy Golen describes Boston’s comeback 8-7 win and what may be the makings of the “Mother of Red Sox comebacks” for Yahoo sports;
The defending World Series champions pulled off the biggest postseason comeback since 1929, beating the Rays 8-7 Thursday night on J.D. Drew’s two-out single in the ninth to stave off elimination in the best-of-seven AL championship series.
“The first six innings we did nothing. They had their way with us every way possible,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. “And then this place came unglued, and we’ve seen that before. But because of the situation we’re in, it just—that was pretty magical.”
Boston trailed 7-0 with two outs in the seventh, then rallied when David Ortiz’s three-run homer followed Dustin Pedroia’s RBI single against Grant Balfour. Drew hit a two-run homer in the eighth, and Coco Crisp tied it with a two-out RBI single off Dan Wheeler.
“It was pretty much the most amazing thing I’ve ever been a part of,” Crisp said, “to be down 7-0 in an elimination game and be able to come back.
Then in the ninth, Kevin Youkilis grounded to Evan Longoria with two outs, and wound up at second when the throw bounced in front of first baseman Carlos Pena. Jason Bay was intentionally walked and Drew lined a single to right off J.P. Howell over the outstretched glove of Gabe Gross to score the game-winner.
“There’s a lot of fight in that dugout, and a lot of guys knew as soon as we got some runs on the board, we could get something going,” Drew said.
And so, there is still a decent shot that what I’ve been saying since the spring, well actually for the past 2 seasons since Jimmy Rollins started spouting off in early 2007 about the Phillies winning the NL East, that a Phillies, Red Sox World Series could come to fruition in 2008.
For those fans who think that I’ve lost it, that I belong “up the Boulevard” or who wonder what I must be sniffing, let me remind you that we’re talkin’ about the Boston Red Sox who dropped the first 3 games of the 2004 ALCS to the New York Yankees, including game 3 by an ignominous 19-8 pounding. But these guys edged the Yanks in games 4 through 6 before pummelling them in game 7 by a 10-3 score to win the Pennant and crush the “Curse of Ruth.” By the way, the Yanks were the home team in games 6 and 7 and the “Bombers” haven’t been the same since. And the BoSox went on to shut down the St. Louis Cardinals by 4 games to 0 in the World Series.
And don’t forget that these are the same Red Sox who, in their next ALCS appearance, dropped behind the Cleveland Indians by 3 games to 1 only to comeback and pummel the Indians in games 5 through 7 (game 5 in Cleveland) to again win the Pennant –their 2nd in 4 seasons. They went on to dispatch the previously red-hot Colorado Rockies in 4 games in the 2007 World Series.
Josh Beckett, who was stewed, blued and tatooed for 8 runs in 4 1/3 innings in his previous start against the Rays, gets a shot at redemption in Saturday’s game 6 against James Shields who went 7 1/3 innings in losing to Boston by 2-0 in game 1. Sunday’ game 7, if necessary, pits young lefthander Jon Lester against his game 2 opponent Matt Garza.
The Phillies will work hard to see that, if Boston makes this World Series, there is no three-peat of Boston’s 2004 and 2007 shut outs of it’s National League opposition.
For the scores, boxscores and recaps on Saturday’s and Sunday’s (if necessary) games, click here and here.
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