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Red Sox beat Rays to force decider

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-20 09:22

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida: The Boston Red Sox beat Tampa Bay 4-2 on Saturday to force a deciding seventh game for the American League championship and a spot in the World Series.

The Rays led the series 3-1 and were 7-0 ahead in the seventh inning of Game Five before the Red Sox rallied to win 8-7.

Boston catcher Jason Varitek homered in the sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie and the Red Sox added another run in the inning on a single by David Ortiz after a Tampa Bay error.

"The important thing is that we found a way to win this game," Varitek told reporters.

Kevin Youkilis also homered for the Red Sox and drove in another run with a ground ball. "It's an incredible feeling right now," he said.

Tampa Bay's only runs came on solo homers by B.J. Upton in the first inning and Jason Bartlett in the fifth.

The Rays, who scored 37 runs in the previous four games against Boston, were held to four hits by Boston starter Josh Bartlett and three relief pitchers.

Bartlett had given up eight runs to the Rays in Game Two last Saturday.

"We just didn't hit tonight," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

Matt Garza was scheduled to start for the Rays on Sunday against Jon Lester of Boston. Garza and the Rays beat Lester 9-1 last Monday.

This is the second year in a row Boston has come back from a three-one deficit to tie the American League championship series. Boston beat Cleveland 4-3 last year and then won the World Series against Colorado.

In 2004, the Red Sox trailed the New York Yankees 3-0, then won the next four games and swept St. Louis in the World Series.

Agencies