The Game of Baseball

To say that the Boston Red Sox over the last few years have had a flair for the dramatic over the last few seasons, would just be stating the obvious. For some bizarre reason they play their best baseball in the ALCS, once their collective backs are against the wall. They of course came back in the ALCS in 2004 against the New York Yankees after falling behind 3-0 on the way to their first World Series win since 1918. Last year the Bo-Sox were down 3-1 to the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS, and came back and won the World Series again.

Boston looked dead and buried Thursday night, going into the bottom of the seventh inning trailing the Tampa Bay Rays 7-0. The Rays had come into the contest, with a 3-1 series edge, and it looked like they were heading to the World Series to take on the Philadelphia Phillies. However the Red Sox were not ready to go home for the season, and proceeded to destroy the Rays bullpen. Boston scored 4 runs in the seventh, 3 in the eighth, and J.D. Drew won the game in the bottom of the ninth.

Saturday the series came back to Tropicana Field for game six, as the Rays hoped to stop Boston's momentum and end the ALCS. But for the second game in a row, Boston was not ready to allow their season to end. The Red Sox after falling behind 1-0 in the first defeated the Rays 4-2, setting up a game seven Sunday night.

Boston starter Josh Beckett has not had a strong post season. When he faced the Rays in game two of the series he was knocked out of the game in the fifth inning after giving up eight runs. Although Beckett had a rocky first inning, the man on the mound for Boston had a far better performance than he did his last time out.

Tampa Bay center fielder B.J. Upton who has been on fire this whole series, hit his fourth home run of the ALCS in the first, putting his team ahead 1-0. Rays starter James Shields who was the losing pitcher in game one, gave up a homer to Kevin Youkilis in the bottom of the second which tied the game at 1-1. The Red Sox would take the lead as Dustin Pedroia scored on a Youkilis ground out in the bottom of the third putting Boston ahead 2-1. But the Rays answered with their second long ball of the day as Josh Bartlett hit a solo shot to left, and the game was tied 2-2.

The Red Sox would take the lead for good in the top of the sixth. Boston catcher Jason Varitek who had been almost silent offensively in the series, put the club up 3-2 with is first round-tripper of the series with two outs in the sixth. Boston added an insurance run in the inning as Big Papi David Ortiz had a RBI single, making the final score 4-2 Boston.

Beckett gets the win for the Red Sox, Shields takes the loss for the Rays. The two teams will meet Sunday night with a rematch of the game three pitchers. Matt Garza will be on the mound for Tampa Bay, Jon Lester on the hill for Boston.

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