Red Sox beat A's in squeaker, 4-3, head to AL Championship Series
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Next stop, Wonderland.
Actually, the next stop is New York City, home of baseball's "Evil Empire." And you know what they say: If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.
The fearless, mostly hairless Boston Red Sox last night completed a comeback from an 0-2 deficit in a best-of-five Division Series, beating the Oakland A's, 4-3, to advance to the American League Championship Series against the Yankees, starting tomorrow night in the House That You-Know-Who Built.
As ever, it was not easy for Boston. Oakland put two men in scoring position with one out in the ninth and the Sox didn't clinch until Derek Lowe fanned pinch hitter Terrence Long with the bases loaded and two out. Long was Lowe's second strikeout victim (both looking) in the nail-biting ninth.
Beating the A's for the third time in three days, the Sox relied on superstars Manny Ramirez and Pedro Martinez in the clincher. Ramirez broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth with a monstrous three-run homer off Barry Zito, and Martinez pitched seven-plus innings before getting help from relievers Alan Embree, Mike Timlin, Scott Williamson, and Derek Lowe.
The Sox victory was marred by a frightening seventh-inning collision involving Sox center fielder Johnny Damon and second baseman Damian Jackson. Sprinting from opposite directions in pursuit of Jermaine Dye's pop to shallow center, the two Sox players collided head-to-head. Both lay still on the outfield grass after the crash, but it was soon clear that Damon's injury was more serious. Jackson walked off the field without assistance, but Damon was placed in a neck brace, strapped to a stretcher, and wheeled off in an ambulance. Damon was taken to Highland Hospital for evaluation. His injury put the Sox in a somber mood and tempered Boston's celebration.
Bent on bringing the Hub its first hardball championship in 85 years, the 2003 Sox became only the seventh team in major league history to win a series after trailing, 0-2. The reward is a date with the mighty Yankees, who hold a 26-0 lead over the Red Sox in championships since Boston last won the World Series in 1918. Look for Martinez against Roger Clemens in Game 3 at Fenway Park Saturday afternoon.
After back-to-back dramatic wins at Fenway over the weekend, the Sox flew 3,000 miles Sunday night and prepared to play the deciding game. The finale featured a matchup of Zito, the 2002 American League Cy Young winner, vs. a perennial Cy candidate, Martinez.
Oakland broke through with a run off Martinez in the bottom of the fourth. With two out and no runners aboard, ex-Red Sox catcher Scott Hatteberg walked on a 3-and-1 pitch. Hatteberg came around to score when Oakland left fielder Jose Guillen cracked a liner into right-center. Guillen foolishly tried for a triple and was throw out easily, but not before Hatteberg had crossed the plate with the game's first run.
The 1-0 lead wasn't the only thing in Oakland's favor. This was a night when pitch counts were crucial, and through four frames Zito had thrown only 45 pitches while Martinez was at 59. Martinez threw 130 pitches in the first game of the series, his tops for the year. Only twice in 2003 did the fragile righty approximate 130 pitches. He reached 128 twice, and in the two ensuing starts, he was 0-2 with a 4.09 ERA. Those numbers seemed to offset the idea of Zito pitching on three days' rest for the first time in his big league career.
Bad Boston baserunning gave Zito some help in the fifth. Kevin Millar hit a sinking liner to center with one out. Oakland center fielder Chris Singleton was unable to catch the ball and it skipped away from him on a hop. Millar, who did not run hard down the first base line, saw the ball get away and went for a double. He was gunned down at second.
The Sox broke it open with four in the sixth, thanks to homers by Jason Varitek and Ramirez. The Sox catcher homered on a 3-and-2 pitch to start the inning and it was clear Zito was struggling. The lefthander walked Damon after getting ahead on the count, 0 and 2. Two relievers started throwing in the Oakland bullpen.
As he stood at the plate, Ramirez was 1 for 7 in the series with runners in scoring position and had zero RBIs. He worked the count to 2 and 2, fouled off a pitch, then hit one far and deep, over the left-field fence. He admired his shot until it was over the fence, pointed toward his own dugout, then finally ran the bases. Ramirez was unusually animated when he crossed home, hugging several teammates en route to the bench.
It certainly felt like the game was over. Only twice in his career has Martinez failed to hold a three-run lead.
But the ace struggled. The A's pushed a run across in the bottom of the sixth on doubles by Erubiel Durazo and the struggling Miguel Tejada. They chased Martinez in the eighth, when Chris Singleton led off with a double to right and scored on a pinch single to right by Billy McMillon.
Alan Embree relieved Martinez and got the next two batters on popups. Mike Timlin relieved Embree and got Tejada to ground to short. Fine work by the pen: eight pitches, seven strikes, three outs.
Twenty-eight years ago, former Sox owner Tom Yawkey sipped champagne from a paper cup in this place to celebrate a sweep of Oakland that sent the Sox to a World Series. The Sons of Grady Little are planning on a trip to the Fall Classic, but first they have to beat the Yankees, which has never been an easy task for the Boston Red Sox.
