Monday, October 22, 2007

MLBaseball

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/john_donovan/10/22/alcs.pedroia/index.html - APFor the second time in four years, the formerly folding Red Sox are headed to the Series, courtesy of an 11-2 win over the Indians in Game 7 of the ALCS. The score is deceptive, it was a game and a series that, as late as the seventh inning Sunday, really could have gone in either direction. And then Dustin Pedroia took control with a game-defining two-run home run, putting an exclamation point to a personal postseason comeback and sealing another postseason bounceback for the Sox. Surely he's the AL Rookie of the Year.

The Indians, who won 96 games this season, had a 3-1 lead in the ALCS after Game 4 in Cleveland last Tuesday and looked, with their two big-name pitchers ready to go, poised to pounce. But after a seven-run fifth inning in Game 4, the Indians' offense collapsed in a shuddering heap, scoring just five runs in its final 30 innings. A 3-1 lead shrunk to 3-2 on a Game 5 gem by Boston's Josh Beckett, the ALCS Most Valuable Player, and Saturday night the Sox tied the series with a 12-2 blowout. Sunday, with controversy swirling around the Indians off the field (news reports revealed that Game 4 hero Paul Byrd had used human growth hormone), the Sox held a slim 3-2 lead when the game turned in the seventh. Pedroia wiggled his way into making a difference in both halves of the inning.

Dice-K pitched three great innings, then two less so, but held on for five. Okey-Dokey pitched his usual two great innings, then started off badly in the eighth, when the heater came to the mound. Papelbon simply blew pitches past batters, then got to do the Riverdance after CoCo Crisp made the final two outs of the game.

Colorado outscored Boston 20-5 in winning two of three during an interleague series at Fenway in June. The Red Sox did even better in winning the last three games against Indians, outscoring them 30-5 in that span. The Sox have only a couple of days to blow out this win before they settle down to business again, hosting the surprising Rockies in Game 1 of the World Series here on Wednesday night. They started their pre-Series soiree in grand fashion late Sunday, partying on the field at Fenway well past midnight, carrying around the AL trophy and generally enjoying another series win that, just four days ago, seemed almost impossible.

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