Red Sox Advance To World Series!

Was I worried? Maybe a little. Did I think they would do it so convincingly? Probably not. Am I happy about it? You bet!

Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched a strong five innings, allowing only two runs, while Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon each went a scoreless two frames as the Red Sox made it to their second World Series in four seasons with an 11-2 win over the Cleveland Indians tonight at Fenway Park in Boston. The game was a much closer one than the end result though.

The Red Sox had Indians starter Jake Westbrook in trouble seemingly with every pitch in the early going. Westbrook allowed nine hits in the first four innings, but only allowed three runs thanks to his defense bailing him out with three double plays. He then pitched perfect ball in the fifth and sixth innings to keep the Indians in the game - the outcome was still very much in doubt as the Red Sox only led by a 3-2 score after six.

In the bottom of the 7th, Jacoby Ellsbury reached second base on Indian thirdbaseman Casey Blake's fielding error to open the inning off of the usually reliable Rafael Betancourt. Julio Lugo then sacrificed Ellsbury to third. Dustin Pedroia then took a Betancourt fastball and deposited over the Green Monster in left for a two run homer, giving the Red Sox a 5-2 lead. The Indians threatened in the top of the eighth as the first two batters reached base off of Okajima. Papelbon was then summoned and retired the next three batters in order to end the threat. The Sox would erupt for six more runs in the bottom of the frame to put the game away at 11-2. The final out was recorded on a Casey Blake flyout deep to center that Boston outfielder CoCo Crisp made a spectacular catch on - running hard into the center field wall with his left leg as he came down with the ball.

The World Series is now all set. Game one will pit Jeff Francis of the Rockies against ALCS MVP Josh Beckett. You can catch all of the action on your local Fox station beginning at 8:07 ET/5:07 PT this Wednesday night.

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