And there too, seemingly, came the end for the Angels. Oh, they have the possibility of three more games, but they also face the knowledge of having lost their last 11 postseason games to the Sox. Surviving Daisuke Matsuzaka's typical roller-coaster start, the Sox had done it again, this time with a 7-5 win last night in front of 45,354 red-clad fans at Angel Stadium.
"There's probably no greater feeling as a baseball player," Drew said. "You battle all year to get to this point, and you get to experience that. I hadn't played in six weeks, so I'm thankful to be out there and just run around and play with our team. To contribute in a key situation is huge."
Drew's home run, his first since July 26 against the Yankees, came after David Ortiz had led off the inning with a double to the wall in right field. He had pulled into second, where he was replaced by pinch runner Coco Crisp, who had a near-pickoff experience with Drew at the plate. Ultimately, Crisp's speed wasn't required, a slow trot home with the ball out of the park all that was needed.
The Sox are now on the brink of another sweep of the Angels, which would be their second in as many years, with the teams heading to Boston for a possible finale tomorrow. There, the Angels will find Josh Beckett, one of the best postseason pitchers in history, awaiting them in Game 3.
"We have a challenge," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia. "This game ain't over until somebody wins three games, it's that type of series. We go into Boston, win a game, and the pressure is back on them. We need to play baseball.
"There is a challenge in front of us, and the only way to meet it is going to be pitch by pitch, inning by inning on Sunday."
It had seemed from the beginning that the Sox would win this one, would go up, 2-0, like each of the other Division Series this year. With four first-inning runs off Ervin Santana, it was easy to believe the Sox were firmly implanted in the heads of the Angels. But that all changed in the eighth inning.
