Sox Spoil Yankees Sweep Hopes
David Ortiz's drive into the right-field bullpen set off a frenzy at Fenway and gave the Boston Red Sox a shot at pulling off the greatest comeback ever.
Down to their last three outs of the season, the Boston Red Sox rallied - against Mariano Rivera, the New York Yankees and decades of disappointment.
Bill Mueller singled home the tying run off Rivera in the ninth inning and David Ortiz homered against Paul Quantrill in the 12th, leading Boston to a 6-4 victory Sunday over the Yankees that avoided a four-game sweep in the AL championship series.
"This is a team that never gives up," said Ortiz.
Red Sox fans who had been praying, holding hands and hoping against hope a few innings earlier, burst into cheers when Ortiz connected. Long after Sunday turned into Monday, there was still plenty of energy inside old Fenway Park.
Even Ortiz danced home to his teammates waiting at the plate.
"We always find a way to make it hard for ourselves," Red Sox starter Derek Lowe said.
Pedro Martinez will start for Boston in Game 5 Monday against Mike Mussina, trying to force the series back to New York the following night. If the Sox win, injured Curt Schilling is expected to be ready to start Game 6.
Sunday night's game lasted 5 hours, 2 minutes and ended at 1:22 a.m. EDT, marking the second back-to-back marathon these teams have played. Saturday's 19-8 win by the Yankees took 4 hours, 20 minutes. The teams have little time to get ready for Game 5, which starts at 5:10 p.m.
"Everybody's going to have trouble sleeping, except maybe from exhaustion," Yankees manager Joe Torre said.
Of the 25 previous teams to fall behind 3-0 in a best-of-seven series, 20 were swept, three lost in five games and two lost in six.
Quantrill, New York's fifth pitcher, relieved Tom Gordon to start the 12th and allowed a leadoff single to Manny Ramirez. Ortiz's shot on a 2-1 pitch landed in the right-field bullpen.
"Had I not given up the hit to Manny, I would have gone further inside," Quantrill said. "Ortiz is just a great hitter and he beat me."
Boston was facing a disappointing end to a season when Rivera walked Kevin Millar to lead off the ninth.
"You put the walk away, and it would have been totally different," Rivera said. "It wasn't the way I planned it today."
Pinch-runner Dave Roberts stole second on the first pitch to Mueller, who lined one up the middle as Roberts easily scored and Rivera swung his right arm in disgust. He has blown just four saves in 36 postseason chances, but two have come this year. He has lost to Boston twice during the regular season.
"It certainly is disappointing," Torre said. "We're so used to Mo going out there and getting people out, which he did tonight. The walk and stolen base was the difference in that ninth inning."
Doug Mientkiewicz followed with a sacrifice, and Johnny Damon hit a hopper to first that Tony Clark, playing in place of injured John Olerud, fumbled for an error. That left runners at first and third.
Orlando Cabrera struck out, the Yankees let Damon take second and Ramirez walked, loading the bases for Ortiz, who flied to right.
With closer Keith Foulke already having pitched 2 2-3 innings, Alan Embree came in and got through the 10th. Curtis Leskanic escaped an 11th-inning jam by getting Bernie Williams on a bases-loaded flyout, then stranded a runner at second in the 12th by striking out Miguel Cairo.
Hours earlier, the Yankees took a 2-0 lead in the third. After Derek Jeter singled with two outs off Lowe, Alex Rodriguez hit a drive to left field over an advertising sign atop the Green Monster, his second homer in two nights.
Sidelined since Oct. 1 with a tired shoulder, Yankees starter Orlando Hernandez baffled Boston with pitches ranging from a 91 mph fastball to a 55 mph curve. Then, in the fifth, the Red Sox went ahead 3-2 on three walks, Cabrera's RBI single and Ortiz's two-run single.
The Yankees came back to score twice in the sixth, with Hideki Matsui starting the rally with a one-out triple. But it was a series of tricklers and rollers that scored the runs that put them ahead 4-3.
Groans from fans could be heard when Boston manager Terry Francona walked to the mound and brought in Mike Timlin to face Williams, who hit a slow bouncer to shortstop. But Cabrera couldn't pick it up with his bare hand and the slow-footed Matsui scored.
After Jorge Posada walked, Williams was thrown out at third trying to advance on a ball that skipped away from catcher Jason Varitek.
Ruben Sierra followed with a grounder that gave second baseman Mark Bellhorn no chance for a play at first. Clark hit a hard grounder that kicked off Bellhorn's glove for another infield hit as Posada scored.
The game began on a solemn note as Ray Boone, who died Sunday at age 81 after a long illness, was honored with a moment of silence before the game. The two-time All Star played from 1948-60 with six different teams and was followed into the big leagues by son Bob and grandsons Bret and Aaron - making the Boones baseball's first three-generation family.
By Ronald Blum