Getting to the World Series is the dream of every major league player, but many, like former Cubs great Ernie Banks, don’t get even one opportunity to play on October’s grandest stage.
The Boston Red Sox have a number of veterans who already have been there and won it all, including stars such as Josh Beckett, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Curt Schilling, Jason Varitek and Mike Lowell.
And on a chilly Friday night at Fenway Park, the Red Sox’s big-game experience proved to be the difference in a 10-3 victory over Cleveland that gave Boston first blood in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series.
Beckett threw six innings of four-hit ball, Lowell and Varitek drove in a pair of runs apiece and Ortiz and Ramirez combined for five walks and reached base in all 10 of their plate appearances, as the Red Sox cruised to their fourth straight postseason triumph.
“They’re unbelievable,” Lowell said of Ortiz and Ramirez. “It’s great for me because they’re always on base. … To get on base like today, it’s a little ridiculous.”
The unusual approach the Red Sox took was pretending it was do-or-die, even though it was only Game 1.
“You don’t want to say there’s no tomorrow,” Beckett said. “But that’s how you have to approach it.”
Schilling, already an October legend in New England from his bloody sock game against the New York Yankees in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS, will bring a 9-2 postseason record into Game 2 on Saturday, facing Indians right-hander Fausto Carmona.
Carmona couldn’t fare any worse than Cleveland ace C.C. Sabathia, a surprising no-show in Game 1. The hefty lefty allowed eight runs on seven hits and five walks over 4 1/3 innings.
“It was just one of those nights for C.C., he just wasn’t able to get untracked,” Cleveland manager Eric Wedge said.
Travis Hafner’s first-inning home run off Beckett gave the Indians an early lead, but it was all downhill from there. The Red Sox strung together three straight singles in the first, tying it on Ramirez’s RBI single.
Sabathia proceeded to fall apart completely in the third, experiencing control problems after serving up an opposite-field, ground-rule double to Julio Lugo leading off the inning. After a sacrifice bunt advanced Lugo to third, Sabathia walked Kevin Youkilis on four pitches and plunked Ortiz on the right elbow pad to load the bases.
Though Sabathia got ahead of Ramirez with two quick strikes, he then threw four straight breaking balls out of the zone to walk in the go-ahead run. Lowell followed with another ground-rule double to right that brought home two more runs. After an intentional walk to Bobby Kielty, Varitek’s run-scoring grounder to third brought home Ramirez to make it a 5-1 game.
The Red Sox knocked Sabathia out when they loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth. All three runners scored against reliever Jensen Lewis, turning the game into a rout. Beckett was lifted after six innings, striking out seven with no walks, using his fastball, curve and changeup to perfection.
“After you establish all your pitches, then it kind of opens things up,” Beckett said.
The Indians tied Boston with 96 victories this season, most in the majors, but nothing matters any more in the postseason than the game at hand. Kenny Lofton, playing in his 11th postseason and still looking for his first championship, said it’s all a matter of fate.
“After you get the opportunity, you can’t explain the bouncing ball,” the Indians center fielder said. “That’s how I look at it. You can’t explain it and I always say you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
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psullivan@tribune.com
