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Newcomers Keep Sox Winning

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By HOWARD ULMAN

The Associated Press

Published: October 8, 2008

BOSTON - The past postseason stars are gone. A new breed keeps the Red Sox winning.

Curt Schilling, Manny Ramirez, even Mike Lowell - all World Series MVPs - are missing from the group of players Boston will take into the AL championship series.

Jon Lester, Jason Bay and Jed Lowrie - all keys to the victory that sent the Red Sox there.

"It just shows you the work of this organization to bring young people in," Josh Beckett said, "and what they did for us."

Lester pitched seven shutout innings and Bay slid home with the winning run on Lowrie's single in the ninth. That gave Boston a 3-2 win Monday night, helped by a botched squeeze play in the ninth, and clinched the first-round series 3-1 against the Los Angeles Angels, their major-league best 100 wins a bittersweet reminder of what might have been.

Now the Red Sox move on to Tampa Bay to open the best-of-seven ALCS on the road Friday night against the Rays, who beat them by two games in the AL East standings.

"I can't imagine that it'll get more intense than this," Bay said, "but it will."

In four full seasons with Pittsburgh, he never made the playoffs. Now he's there, thanks to a three-team trade July 31 that sent Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers and brought Bay to play left field.

Lowrie was a non-roster invitee to spring training and played 17 games with Boston in April and May before going to the minors. He returned July 12 to take over at shortstop for Julio Lugo, who went on the disabled list the previous day, and played 54 of the last 63 regular-season games.

The Red Sox still have a chance for their third championship in five years with a roster that also includes 2007 rookie of the year Dustin Pedroia and 2008 rookie Jacoby Ellsbury.

"We just beat a phenomenal team," Manager Terry Francona said. "We're going to play another phenomenal team."

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