Red Sox in familiar position -- a winner-take-all Game 7
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Red Sox had the bullpen going behind Josh Beckett in the fourth inning, and in the fifth. They had help ready behind Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth.
Here they are again, on the verge of completing yet another ALCS comeback, on the verge of making it to yet another World Series.
"We weren't ready to go home," Kevin Youkilis said, in the wake of Boston's 4-2 Game 6 win over the Rays.
Half the team might be ready to go see a doctor, but no, the Red Sox weren't ready to go home.
They finally admitted Saturday that Josh Beckett has been pitching in serious pain, but only because Beckett was so obviously gutsy in his five-inning Game 6 win. He had no better stuff than he did in his first two, unsuccessful, postseason starts, but when the Red Sox couldn't afford for him to be bad, he somehow wasn't.
"He poured his heart and soul into all his pitches," Papelbon said.
Beckett had never before had a five-inning win in a postseason game, mostly because there's no way a healthy Beckett comes out of such an important game when he's leading after five. But Beckett's right oblique strain, while not bad enough to keep him from pitching -- and obviously not bad enough to keep him from pitching effectively -- is bad enough that the Red Sox see a need to be very careful.
So when Beckett took the mound in the fourth inning, with a 2-1 lead, the Red Sox immediately had Javier Lopez throwing in the bullpen. When he took the mound in the fifth, with the score still 2-1, Hideki Okajima began to warm up. "I thought Josh pitched with a lot of courage tonight," manager Terry Francona said. "I thought he threw with a lot of guts. It's not vintage Josh Beckett, but he also proved who he is, and he gave us what we needed. I don't think it was real easy for him at times, but he pitched with a lot of composure and a lot of guts."
Then there's Papelbon, who doesn't have an obvious injury, but just as obviously has the Red Sox concerned. When they faced a situation in the eighth inning Saturday that seemed to call for their closer (B.J. Upton at the plate, representing the tying run), Francona resisted the temptation. Then, when Papelbon took the mound in the ninth, Manny Delcarmen began warming up in the bullpen.
"We just wanted to be sure, if something went haywire," pitching coach John Farrell said. "We're at the time of year when everybody might need a little bit of help."
Sure, but Papelbon, who has never been scored on in 16 career postseason appearances?
"I'm pretty beat up," said Papelbon, who has pitched 10 1/3 innings this month. "Just like everyone else is in this clubhouse."
The Red Sox are playing this series without third baseman Mike Lowell, and while right fielder J.D. Drew has been very good, Drew admitted the other day that he hadn't even been sure that his sore back was going to allow him to play this month. There have been questions about David Ortiz's wrist, too, although Ortiz followed his huge Game 5 home run with a 2-for-4 night in Game 6.
As you might expect, both Ortiz hits were big ones. His third-inning double set up the run that put Boston ahead 2-1, and his sixth-inning single (off longtime nemesis J.P. Howell) gave the Red Sox the two-run lead.
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| 'He poured his heart and soul into all his pitches,' Papelbon says of Beckett (above). (Getty Images) |
"He's the No. 1 grinder on this team," Papelbon said. "He's the one who sets the example."
Varitek hadn't hit a home left-handed since Aug. 19, and he hadn't hit one from either side of the plate since Sept. 15. Sure enough, when the Red Sox needed it most, he homered off James Shields on Saturday night.
"He's struggled a little bit this year," Youkilis said. "But I don't care what he did all year. He just hit a home run to help us win a ballgame. So in my eyes, he's had a great year.
"That's all it comes down to. You have a great year when you do great things like that."
What we're learning, or at least being reminded again, is that it's a typical Red Sox October when they do great things like that. Even when they're hurting, even when it seems like this time they shouldn't win, you can't count them out.
Rays manager Joe Maddon referred to Game 7 as "a great learning experience" for his young team, but watching the Red Sox could really be a learning experience for any team right now.
Think about what Beckett did Saturday, what Papelbon is doing, what Varitek did and what Ortiz did.
"Like I say, I fight," said Ortiz, who was 1-for-17 in this postseason before his huge Game 5 home run. "I don't give in. Keep on swinging."
In the ninth inning of Game 5, Ortiz even tried to bunt against Howell. He did the same thing against Howell in September, so you know he doesn't feel comfortable hitting against the Rays left-hander.
He's 1-for-12 in his career against Howell, with no hits since a 2006 home run. And still, with a chance for a key RBI on Saturday, Ortiz found a way to hit him.
That's the Red Sox right now. That's Beckett. That's Papelbon.
And yet, when someone asked Farrell to describe the overall state of his pitching staff, he had a three-word answer.
"Ready to go," he said.
Ready to go. Maybe ready to see a doctor.
But not ready to go home.
