Oct 15, 2008 - 1:38 AM
0 shoutsBy Tom Covill PA SportsTicker Assistant Baseball Editor
BOSTON (Ticker) -- If October baseball is becoming commonplace for the Boston Red Sox, so is the mid-October swoon.
The Red Sox are stumbling once again in the American League Championship Series, though this time it feels a little different.
Not even when the New York Yankees took a 3-0 lead in the 2004 ALCS with a 19-8 drubbing at Fenway Park did Boston look as inept as it has the past two nights.
Tied 1-1 in the series and heading back to Fenway, everything seemed perfectly lined up for the Red Sox to take control of the series. Instead, the Tampa Bay Rays shocked the Fenway faithful on Monday by pounding Jon Lester in a 9-1 demolition.
They followed it up with a 13-4 drubbing on Tuesday, handing the Red Sox back-to-back losses at home in the playoffs for the first time since Games Four and Five of the 1999 ALCS.
"It was tough," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "Sitting through that wasn't a whole lot of fun. We've been on the other side. When it happens to you, you've got to get through it the best you can, and we'll need to regroup as quickly as we can."
Boston was in a similar hole against the Cleveland Indians in the 2007 ALCS but had Games Six and Seven to look forward to at Fenway after dropping two of three on the road.
"I hope it's relevant," Francona said of his team's past success with its back against the wall. "I think every year is different. But rather than burden ourselves with what we look at four days from now, we'll set our sights on our next game and we'll come packed. That's, I think, the best way to go about it."
The Rays, who have a 3-1 lead in the ALCS, have pounded out 31 runs with the aid of 10 homers in past three games, lighting up Josh Beckett, Lester and Tim Wakefield. If the Red Sox are to come back in the series, both Beckett and Lester will have to pitch again after Daisuke Matsuzaka takes the mound in Game Five on Thursday.
Matsuzaka took a no-hitter into the seventh in Game One and earned the win.
"We certainly need to figure it out," Francona said. "The quicker we get to our bullpen, we're making it harder on ourselves. We'll try to take (the off-day Wednesday), get some guys some hacks if they need it, get the pitchers to get loose, but then we need Daisuke to get us deep and effective."
The bullpen has logged 16 innings in the past three games.
"We've had a difficult time," Francona said. "We have not had an answer for a lot of things."
Tampa Bay survived the rigors of the AL East this season due mainly to some solid pitching and defense. In the past three games, the Rays have turned the offense loose.
Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton have combined for 10 home runs this postseason, with five coming in the past three games, and Carl Crawford tied an ALCS record with five hits while scoring three runs in Game Four to bring Tampa Bay to the brink of the Fall Classic.
"We're really excited right now," Crawford said. "It's right there for us to get and I just hope we can get it."
"Going into the next game, we're going to take (Wednesday) off," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "We're going to come back out and I want to see us go after it the same way. It was one our more complete games tonight, I thought, in regard to all facets."
Not only does Boston have to find a way to shut down Tampa Bay's offense, it also has to find some offense of its own.
"We're still playing," Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. "We've got to find a way to win, otherwise our season is over."
Slugger David Ortiz got his first hit of the series late in Game Four and Jacoby Ellsbury (0-for-15), J.D. Drew (2-for-13) and Jed Lowrie (1-for-10) have yet to find a groove in the series.
"It's going to be a tough situation," Ortiz said about a possible comeback. "Playing the game like that is hard. It definitely doesn't feel good."
Tampa Bay, which became the first team to score at least nine runs in three straight LCS games, does not intend to take its foot off the gas.
"It's gone very well," Longoria said. "Obviously, in my eyes, a little bit better than expected. Just the offensive onslaught we've put on the last couple of days has been pretty unbelievable. We still can't let down. Like I said (Monday), we've seen these guys come back from 3-1 and even 3-0, (Thursday) is a going to be a big day. It will take a little pressure off if we end this thing (Thursday)."
