When Cleveland scored seven 11th-inning runs at 1:30 a.m. Sunday at Fenway Park, the Red Sox’s air of superiority was squashed like a Lake Erie bug on a windshield.
Instead of taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the American League Championship Series, Boston let the Indians pull even at a game apiece as they headed to Cleveland for Game 3 on Monday.
Despite history-making performances by Manny Ramirez, who became the all-time postseason home run leader, and David Ortiz, who reached base for the 10th straight time to tie Billy Hatcher’s all-time postseason record, the Red Sox painted themselves into a corner in a 5-hour-14-minute game with a bullpen collapse that defied belief.
Now the Red Sox must win two of three at Jacobs Field to regain the momentum and bring the series back to Boston with a 3-2 lead.
Former Red Sox outfielder Trot Nixon, who started the avalanche of runs with the go-ahead RBI single in the 11th, said it was simply a matter of which team could outlast the other without blinking first.
“We kept battling,” Nixon said. “We persevered. It’s kind of ridiculous to be playing baseball at 1:30 in the morning, but you don’t get these opportunities very often.”
The Indians will send Jake Westbrook to the mound on Monday against Daisuke Matsuzaka, hoping to ride the wave of Saturday’s extra-inning win after a brief respite on Sunday.
Approximately 10,000 fans made their way to Jacobs Field on Saturday night just to watch the game on the Jumbotron, so it’s safe to say the city is appropriately psyched for Game 3.
And when Cleveland rocks, the Indians roll.
The way the Indians’ top two starters have fared, Cleveland should consider itself fortunate to be even in the series. C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona have combined to allow 12 runs in 8 1/3 innings, but the Indians’ hitters have picked up the slack, matching the jaw-dropping hitting display by Ortiz, Ramirez and Mike Lowell.
“I’m so proud of these guys for the way that they’ve persevered throughout the entire year,” Nixon said. “No one was picking us to win. … We didn’t play the way we wanted to the first night. Maybe we had some big eyes out there.
“But I think they learned a lot in that first game and were able to come out [in Game 2] against a top-flight pitcher like Curt Schilling and get after it a little bit. That’s special when you’ve got a young ballclub because sometimes they might not be smart enough to realize, ‘Oh, where are we at right now?’ They’re just worried about playing baseball, and they’re having fun at it.
“I know from past experiences when you have a great clubhouse camaraderie, good things can happen on the field. And that’s what this clubhouse has been the entire year, from top to bottom, and it’s just exciting to come back from a game like we did [Friday] night and play the way we did.”
Boston’s lineup is so imposing that Ramirez already has three bases-loaded walks in the first two games, more than any other player has had in an entire postseason. Better to walk in a run than give up a two-run double off the Green Monster.
But the Indians are hitting .305, and six players have three or more hits in the first two games, putting the pressure on Boston’s offense to match them hit for hit.
Boston’s lineup may be the best in the game, but Cleveland’s may be the most underrated.
“You can’t really explain anything in baseball,” Indians left fielder Kenny Lofton said.
“If they’re all clicking (for the Red Sox), everybody is in trouble. They’re awesome. And when you have guys on this team clicking, forget it.
“But that’s the way the game goes.”
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psullivan@tribune.com
