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ALCS Tied After Boston Marathon

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By TOM WITHERS, The Associated Press

Published: October 15, 2007

CLEVELAND - Equally exhausted and exhilarated, the Indians stumbled home looking for their postseason pillows.

Sleep was at a premium Sunday after a late, late night out in nippy New England.

The Indians were tired, for sure.

Tied in the American League Championship Series, too.

With a record-setting, seven-run rally in the 11th inning of Game 2, the Indians, despite getting next-to-no help from their top two pitchers inside unforgiving Fenway Park, beat the Red Sox 13-6 in the wee hours Sunday morning to even their best-of-seven series at one game apiece.

At 1:37 a.m., a 5-hour, 14-minute Boston baseball marathon ended after more than 400 pitches, momentum swings and enough spine-tingling October moments to shiver even die-hard Red Sox fan Stephen King.

'It was draining, emotionally and physically,' said Indians first baseman Ryan Garko, sporting a face full of stubble and the same dress clothes he wore on the flight to Cleveland. 'To be sitting here on an off day, down 2-0, would have been tough.'

Instead, the Indians felt relieved - and perhaps a little lucky - as they prepare to host Game 3 tonight, the first of three straight at Jacobs Field, which hasn't hosted an ALCS game since 1998.

Cleveland will start Jake Westbrook against Boston rookie Daisuke Matsuzaka, who lasted just 4 2/3 innings in his playoff debut against the Los Angeles Angels.

The Red Sox, well, at least the few sleep-deprived ones who skipped afternoon naps and wandered over from the hotel to attend an optional workout at the Jake, offered some perspective on the defeat.

'It's just a loss,' rookie second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. 'I know we went into extra innings and they scored a bunch there. We lost the game. It's 1-1 in the series. We still have the same mind-set.

'Just because we lost the game, nobody's hitting the panic button.'

This was the type of game the Red Sox usually win in October. In fact, it was the first time Boston had lost an extra-inning game in the postseason after going 7-0-1 (a 1912 World Series game ended in a tie) in its previous eight.

In 2004, the Red Sox went 3-0 in extra innings at home en route to winning their first World Series title since 1918.

Manager Terry Francona was asked if a crushing loss could have a lingering effect.

'There had better not be any carryover,' Francona said. 'That would be a horrible mistake on our part.'

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