Red Sox Best Rays in Game 6: Will BoSox Complete Comeback?
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Josh Beckett was sufficiently more effective than James Shields, 3rd baseman Kevin Youkilis homered and drove in 2 runs, catcher Jason Varitek homered to give Boston a sixth inning lead which their bullpen held onto over the final four innings going one walk short of perfection as Boston rallied to tie the ALCS with a 4-2 win over Tampa Bay.
And so this blog’s previous post about the Rays being where Boston wants them comes closer to actuality as both teams now stand one game away from a World Series meeting with the NL Pennant-winning Phillies. My guess: it’s going to be the Red Sox facing the Phils beginning Wednesday.
In the previous post, I wrote about the 2 21st century ALCS’s that the Red Sox played in and came back from 3-0 and 3-1 game deficits to win. But the Red Sox, who many call the comeback kids have already three-peated.
Everyone remembers the 1986 World Series where the Red Sox held a 3-2 lead in games over the New York Mets who managed to tie the game 5-5 in the 10th inning. With 2 outs and a Mets runner on 2nd base, 1st baseman Billy Buckner made his memorable flub of a lazy ground ball along the 1st base line as the winning run scored enabling the Mets to tie the series and to win it in the 7th game.
But in remembering the 1986 World Series, few may also remember that Boston was down 3 games to 1 to the California Angels in the ALCS that season as well.
The Angels, one may recall, were managed by Gene Mauch, formerly manager of the Phillies who suffered their 1964 Pennant collapse under Mauch’s managership. Although Mauch managed 3 other teams after leaving the Phillies, he never managed a team to a Pennant in his 26 year managerial career.
Down 3 games to 1 and with the Angels holding a 5-2 lead in game 5 going into the Boston ninth inning, the Red Sox got two 2 run homers to take a 6-5 lead. The Angels tied the game in the bottom of the ninth. After a scoreless tenth inning, Boston pushed across the winning run in the eleventh and then their bullpen made the lead over the Angels stand in the bottom of the inning for a comeback 7-6 win from which the Angels never recovered. Boston went on to win games 6 and 7 by 10-4 and 8-1 scores.
And so, the Red Sox stand on the threshold of a 4th ALCS comeback in the span of 22 years as Sunday’ game 7 pits young lefthander Jon Lester against his game 2 opponent Matt Garza as the Phillies await the outcome of the game.
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