No small feat: Sox dispatch Rays, head back to ALCS

This browser does not support the video element.

ST. PETERSBURG -- By the time it was over, the stress of the night seemed like it never happened for the Red Sox. Instead, they mobbed each other in salute of their latest accomplishment -- a trip to the American League Championship Series.

In a gritty performance all the way around, the Red Sox dispatched the pesky Tampa Bay Rays, 3-1, in a tense Game 4 of the American League Division Series on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field.

"That's what our team is built on," said Dustin Pedroia. "We're going to find a way to beat you a thousand different ways. Tonight it was a wild pitch and an infield hit and [Shane Victorino] is flying down the line."

With nine outs to go, Boston was down 1-0 and faced the very real possibility of having to face Tampa Bay ace David Price in a winner-take-all Game 5 showdown Thursday at Fenway Park.

Instead, manager John Farrell's team can rest up in advance of Game 1 of the ALCS on Saturday at Fenway Park. The opponent will either be the Tigers or the Athletics, who will play Game 5 of their ALDS on Thursday in Oakland.

This is the first trip to the ALCS for Boston since 2008. With another four wins, the Red Sox can get back to the World Series for the first time since '07. It has been a surreal ride for a team that won 69 games a year ago, only to bounce back with 97 in the regular season, and then a 3-1 series victory against a solid Rays team.

"We've done it all year," said third baseman Will Middlebrooks. "You can't ever count us out. Even in games we've lost this year, we've made a comeback, it seems like, in every game. You can't ever count us out. It's a resilient group of guys."

The game turned in the top of the seventh, when the Sox at last put together the sustained rally they needed, albeit one that was of the small-ball variety.

Top prospect Xander Bogaerts pinch-hit for Stephen Drew for his first career postseason plate appearance and reached with a walk against Jake McGee.

"It's a big situation, but I felt very calm," said Bogaerts. "It's the biggest walk of my career."

It became that thanks in large part to Jacoby Ellsbury. The leadoff man was marvelous in this series and belted a single to right-center, and Bogaerts raced to third.

Rays manager Joe Maddon, who made a flurry of pitching changes from the second inning on, went to right-hander Joel Peralta.

That's when things started happening for the Red Sox. Peralta's first offering was a wild pitch, and Bogaerts roared in with the tying run.

Ellsbury was also off on the pitch, and he stole second and then scooted to third to put the go-ahead run 90 feet away.

Victorino hit a broken-bat dribbler to shortstop and beat Yunel Escobar's throw to first, scoring Ellsbury with the go-ahead run.

"I knew it was going to be a tough at-bat with Peralta in the game," Victorino said. "I haven't had much success against him. Whatever it took. Obviously that first pitch, I saw Jacoby take off. Jacoby was able to get to third. I was telling myself, 'Hey, put this ball in play wherever way you can. Just try to make something happen.' I came out on the good end with a broken-bat infield hit. I was able to beat it out."

From there, Boston's bullpen took it home. The first man in was Craig Breslow, and he did a brilliant job, striking out James Loney to end the sixth and then whiffing the heart of the Rays' order in the seventh -- Evan Longoria, Ben Zobrist and Desmond Jennings.
Breslow retired another batter in the eighth and departed after giving up an infield single to Escobar.

"He's been, I don't want to say an unsung hero, but he's flown under the radar most of the year," Farrell said of Breslow.
Junichi Tazawa came on for just one batter, striking out pinch-hitter Matt Joyce.

Although Koji Uehara surrendered a walk-off homer to Jose Lobaton to end Game 3, Farrell went right back to his ace closer for the four-out save.

And this time, the righty, who has been brilliant nearly all season, came through.

Uehara fired a 1-2-3 ninth, striking out Longoria to end the series.

"I'd completely gotten over what happened yesterday. It was a new day." Uehara said.

Jake Peavy turned in a strong performance for the Red Sox, allowing five hits and a run over 5 2/3 innings. He walked none and struck out three while throwing 74 pitches.

The low pitch count indicated the urgency of the game.

"Jake, on a normal situation, we're probably having a fist fight on the mound right there," said Farrell. "Our starters recognize the time of the year it is, the importance of every out, the importance of every matchup."

The scoreless stalemate was finally broken in the bottom of the sixth when the Rays produced their first fruitful rally against Peavy, who threw just 56 pitches over the first five innings.

Escobar started it with a leadoff double high off the wall in left. Lobaton did his job with a grounder to second, moving the go-ahead run to third, and David DeJesus hammered a single to right to make it a 1-0 game.

Aside from that one hiccup, Peavy was tremendous.

"It was a hard-fought win," Peavy said. "We didn't want it any other way than it happened tonight."

The Red Sox looked like they were about to score in the top of the second, when they loaded the bases with nobody out. But Maddon then pulled a stunner, giving starter Jeremy Hellickson a quick hook.

Perhaps it had something to do with Jarrod Saltalamacchia's strong career numbers (.320 average, three homers and five RBIs) against Hellickson. At any rate, it worked. Jamey Wright came on and struck out Saltalamacchia. Drew stepped up next and hit a bullet, but Loney snared it out of the air at first and fired to second, where he was able to double off Mike Napoli.

"I wasn't expecting [a pitching change] in the second inning, but Joe Maddon, he's a good manager, he knows what he's doing over there," said Saltalamacchia. "Sometimes it looks a little different, but he does things for a reason. He's always got a plan. I was expecting them to use their bullpen, but I wasn't expecting it that early, to be honest with you."

Pedroia tacked on an insurance run in the ninth with a sac fly to score Bogaerts.

"My approach and the team's approach wasn't any different from Game 30 of the year," said Pedroia. "It didn't matter what game it was. We're trying to show up to win. That's it. Today wasn't any different than any other game after a loss."

But by the time the game ended, the champagne that flowed around the clubhouse made it clear this was far more than just another game.

"We're still on track to accomplish our goals, and that's the biggest thing," Pedroia said. "Got to get some rest and get ready for the next one."

More from MLB.com

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com