''I yelled, 'Safe!' " Youkilis said. ''[First base coach Bill] Haselman yelled 'Safe!' too."
And he was, at 2 p.m. Cheruiyot would finish at 2:07 p.m. in Copley Square. In the interim, at 2:02, Mark Loretta would go where he'd never gone before: a) over the Monster and b) out of any park, anywhere, for a walkoff shot. Thus: Sox 7, Mariners 6. Commence the mosh pit at home plate.
''I've never experienced it before, not in Little League, high school, just complete euphoria," said the 185-pound Loretta. ''You almost have to step back and say, 'Is the game really over?' Do the math real quick."
The math indicated that the game and the Mariners were finished, for the third time in four days. The Sox were 9-4 on the season. And they'd won their 18th consecutive one-run game inside the walls of Fenway Park, which was pulsating, as the Sox rewarded the 36,188 who arrived early (first pitch 11:07 a.m.) and stayed late. In fact, they stayed extra late; most remained for 10-15 more minutes, chanting and cheering.
''I didn't get to see it," Youkilis said of Loretta's blast, into the second row of the Monster seats. ''I was running like no other. You see on the replay Loretta is fist-pumping. I'm still running like crazy."
Youkilis eventually picked up third base coach DeMarlo Hale and downshifted for the last leg of his journey, which was the only moment yesterday when the Sox were afforded a chance to relax. Seattle scored, and the Sox answered. Consider the scoreboard after eight innings:
Seattle 11000210
Boston 11000201
In the first, Ichiro Suzuki snapped an 0-fo-12 in the series, doubling to left and scoring on Raul Ibanez's sacrifice fly. David Ortiz, with two down and the count 3-and-1 in the bottom of the inning, swung through a changeup, then crushed a full-count inside fastball over the visiting bullpen.
''They were pitching me backwards," said the Sox DH. ''Offspeed, then try to surprise me and sneak a fastball."
The tie was ephemeral. Lenny DiNardo, making his second career start, walked Adrian Beltre, who was 1 for his last 22, with one out in the second. Yuniesky Betancourt plated him with a double to center.
