BOSTON STRONG -
THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION
 2013 ALCS, GAME #5
Napoli's blast paces the Sox

October 17, 2013 ... There were 11 outs to go in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series and Red Sox manager John Farrell asked his bullpen to take it home.  It seemed like a lot to ask, but Junichi Tazawa, Craig Breslow and Koji Uehara did exactly what was needed, putting the finishing touches on a tight 4-3 victory over the Tigers that has Boston just one win away from reaching the World Series.

Uehara, the indomitable closer, did the heaviest lifting, recording his first five-out save since Sept. 20.  Though the ninth inning is currently his domain, Uehara knows that he can be called in to work earlier this time of year.  But Farrell had just as much confidence in his two setup men, which is why he felt comfortable pulling ace Jon Lester with one out in the sixth.

Relying more on grit than overpowering stuff, Lester gave the Red Sox 5 1/3 innings, scattering seven hits and two runs. He walked three and struck out three, throwing 98 pitches.

Mike Napoli provided a 460-foot missile to center for a solo shot in the second that started a three-run rally.  Napoli was 3 for 4 with the home run and a double for the Sox. He scored two runs.  But after scoring another run in the third, the bats went quiet, and the Sox relied on their pitching and defense, which turned three crucial double plays.

Austin Jackson started a Detroit rally in the fifth with a single up the middle. Jose Iglesias went for the sacrifice bunt, and after initially bobbling it, Lester shoveled the throw to first, just in time. Miguel Cabrera ripped a single into the gap in left-center and Jackson scored, making it a 4-1 game.

Despite the results, Lester seemed like he was on a tightrope for most of the night. He walked Victor Martinez to open the sixth and then gave up a one-out single up the middle to Omar Infante. That was Lester's last pitch of the night, as Farrell called on Tazawa.  Brayan Pena hit Tazawa's first pitch into center for an RBI single to make it 4-2. But the righty reliever bounced back quickly, as Jackson hit into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.

Finally, it seemed, Detroit was going to tie it or go ahead in the seventh. After Iglesias and Torii Hunter led off with singles, Tazawa made a huge pitch, inducing the dangerous Cabrera into a 4-3 double play, on which Iglesias scored to make it a one-run game.  Craig Breslow got Prince Fielder on an inning-ending groundout.

There was drama early on in this one. With two on and two outs in the first, Lester appeared to be in a little bit of trouble when Jhonny Peralta smoked a single to left. But Cabrera rounded third and headed home, where he was easily thrown out by Gomes. Tigers third-base coach Tom Brookens initially waved Cabrera home but then put up the stop sign, apparently too late.

Just like that, the momentum swung. Napoli's second crucial homer in three games went into the shrubbery in dead center field, giving Boston a 1-0 lead.  That gave the Red Sox an early indication that they weren't facing the same Anibal Sanchez who no-hit them over his six innings in Game 1.  Gomes followed with a grounder to third that Cabrera muffed for an error. With one out, Xander Bogaerts, making his first postseason start, ripped a double down the line in left. Bogaerts is the youngest player to start a postseason game for the Red Sox since Babe Ruth was a 21-year-old starting pitcher in the 1916 World Series.  David Ross followed with an RBI double off the wall in left. Jacoby Ellsbury's infield single off the glove of Sanchez gave Lester a 3-0 cushion.

Napoli again got things started in the third, this time with a one-out ground-rule double to left. Napoli moved to third on a fielder's choice. And on a wild pitch that went to the third-base side of the plate, Napoli, who got a great jump from third, scored.

The Tigers seemed to have something going in the fourth when Martinez led off with a single and Infante drew a one-out walk. But Pena, who was pinch-hitting for the injured Alex Avila, hit one back to the box. Lester's throw to short was slightly off the mark, but Stephen Drew did a nice job grabbing it and keeping his foot on the bag. Drew fired to first, where Napoli scooped it for an inning-ending double play.

If the Red Sox pop champagne this weekend, credit the bullpen. Breslow, Tazawa, and Uehara have pitched 18 2/3 innings in the postseason and allowed two runs. In the ALCS, the Red Sox bullpen as a unit has given up one run over 17 innings.

When Ellsbury stole second base in the second inning, it gave him five for the postseason. That tied Johnny Damon (2004) for the most by a Red Sox player in a postseason.

So now the Sox have two cracks at it. All they have to do is beat the 2013 American League Cy Young (Max Scherzer) Saturday, or the 2011 AL Cy Young/MVP (Justin Verlander) Sunday.

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