BOSTON -- It had been more than six weeks since Jed Lowrie had a major league at-bat. Nick Green had just two hits all month, and thought there wasn't the slightest chance he would be able to hit anything thrown at him. The Angels needed just one last strike, at Fenway Park, with an October chill in the air, against a team that had only three game-winning hits all season. And then it happened again.
Somehow, the Red Sox were again able to inflict damage on their West Coast foes, coming from behind three times after the fifth inning Wednesday night to beat the Angels 9-8 on a game-winning hit by No. 9 hitter Alex Gonzalez. It was Boston's seventh straight win overall and its 10th in a row at Fenway.
"I was holding my breath the last two innings," said manager Terry Francona, "just hoping for a break or for something good to happen. And we got it." The Red Sox still have only won three of their last eight games at Fenway against the Angels, but that's only during the regular season. The last time the Angels had seen Lowrie, he was hitting the game-winning single in Game 4 of the American League Division Series, sending the Angels home and to their 12th loss in 13 postseason games against Boston. This time, Lowrie hit a sharp single to third base, right at Chone Figgins, for a two-out, infield hit in the ninth inning. That loaded the bases and set up the at-bat for Green, and later Gonzalez.
Comments that include profanity, or personal attacks, or antisocial behavior such as "spamming" or "trolling," or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our terms of use. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Contributors
Amy K. Nelson
Amy K. Nelson is an award-winning journalist who covers major league baseball for ESPN.com and is part of the site's Enterprise team. Follow her on Twitter.
