As it turned out, the ending was nice for the Sox, but it sure wasn't easy. After scrambling back from a 5-1 deficit to force an 8-8 deadlock in the sixth inning, the Sox persevered until the 11th, when Kevin Millar swatted a two-
out, two-run homer off Tampa Bay closer Danys Baez for a 10-8 victory before 20,116 at Tropicana Field. Millar knocked in Gabe Kapler, who entered as a pinch runner after David Ortiz doubled. "That's not the way you want to do it, but we do have a way of coming back," manager Terry Francona said. "That's a real good trait of our ball club. The flip side of that is, we get down a lot, which is not good."
With their fourth straight victory and 45th come-from-behind triumph, the Sox gained a half-game in their last-gasp effort to catch the division-leading Yankees, whose game against the Twins in the Bronx was washed out by remnants of Hurricane Jeanne. The Sox trail the Yankees by 2 1/2 games with five to play (the Yankees have six to go).
"This was nice because we're right there in the East," said Millar, whose homer was reminiscent of his 16th-inning game-winner last year at the Trop. "It was big for us to keep winning."
The Yankees face a doubleheader today after another blow to their rotation, an injury to Orlando Hernandez. And the Sox, who go with Pedro Martinez tonight in the series finale against the Rays, hoped to roll on despite the comfort of already clinching a playoff berth.
"There's a chance for a letdown, but this team knows we have bigger plans on our mind," said Johnny Damon, who delivered one of the key blows in the comeback, a three-run triple in a four-run fourth inning. "That's to keep on winning games, and hopefully there's a miracle and the Yankees struggle."
The Sox also matched last year's win total of 95 and kept alive their chance of reaching 100 for the first time since the 1946 team won 104. And though Francona has begun selectively resting key players to prepare for the postseason, he bristled at the suggestion that the Sox had conceded anything to the Yankees.
