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BOSTON -- When Shane Victorino signed with the Boston Red Sox as a free agent in the off-season, they were coming off a last-place finish that was their worst in almost half a century. Eddie Murray Orioles Jersey . They had fired their manager for the second year in a row. He believed they could turn it around. And quickly. Victorino brought the Red Sox one big step closer to completing their comeback, sending them to the World Series with a seventh-inning grand slam that gave Boston a 5-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers in Game 6 of the AL championship series Saturday night. The Red Sox will open the Series on Wednesday night against the St. Louis Cardinals, the team they swept in 2004 to end their 86-year title drought. The Cardinals won the NL pennant on Friday night by eliminating the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. "Its one of those moments you live for," Victorino said as he wandered around the Fenway Park infield while Red Sox fans serenaded him with his theme song, Bob Marleys "Three Little Birds," and its chorus, "Dont worry about a thing, Cause every little thing is gonna be all right." "Just listen to the crowd," Victorino said, referring then to the Boston Marathon bombings that left the city reeling during the first month of his first season in town. "The one thing I came here to do is to be a part of this city. With all we went through as a city, theres definitely a bond." Detroit took a 2-1 lead in the sixth and 21-game winner Max Scherzer protected it until the seventh, when Boston loaded the bases on a double, a walk and an error by rookie shortstop Jose Iglesias, traded by the Red Sox in July. Victorino fell behind Jose Veras 0-2 but lofted a hanging curveball over the Green Monster to set off a celebration in the Red Sox dugout and in the Fenway Park stands. "Its been a special ride, and were still going," second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. "Were not going to stop. We know what our goal is. We want to win the World Series." Junichi Tazawa got one out for the win, Craig Breslow pitched a scoreless eighth and series MVP Koji Uehara got the last three outs before the Red Sox poured out of the dugout to begin their now-familiar celebration on the mound. "The way I would sum it up is that I thought their starters were good," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "I thought their bullpen was great." Uehara, who inherited the closer job after the teams first two choices were injured, posted three saves and a win in the series. Then he joked about pitching so well under pressure. "To tell you the truth, I almost threw up," Uehara kidded through a translator. Its the 13th AL pennant for the Red Sox and their first since 2007, when they swept the Colorado Rockies to win it all for the second time in four seasons. Boston swept the Cardinals in 04, winning Game 4 in St. Louis to clinch the title that put an end to generations of disappointment. The latest trip comes one year after a 69-win season that prompted the team to jettison its high-priced stars, rebuild the roster and bring in manager John Farrell to replace Bobby Valentine. Victorino was one of the biggest additions, and he delivered on Saturday as he did for much of the season. "Since the first day of spring training, there wasnt one person more important than the next," said outfielder Jonny Gomes, another newcomer, who doubled to lead off the seventh, missing a homer over the Green Monster by no more than a foot. "Were all pulling in the same direction." Scherzer got one out in the seventh but left after walking rookie Xander Bogaerts to put runners on first and second. Drew Smyly got Jacoby Ellsbury to hit a grounder up the middle, but it popped out of Iglesias glove behind second base and everyone was safe. Veras came in and quickly got ahead of Victorino. But he hung a curveball and Victorino sent it toward the 37-foot left-field wall, which had already knocked down two Red Sox line drives. This one left no doubt. It was the second career post-season slam for Victorino, who also had a record-setting hit-by-pitch in the sixth but failed to get a bunt down in the third. "Hes come up big a number of times this season, none bigger," Farrell said. "Probably the last thing were thinking of, that hes going to hit a ball out of the ballpark, and thankfully the curveball stayed (up)." Scherzer and Clay Buchholz also matched up in Game 2, when the Tigers right-hander took a no-hitter and a 5-0 lead into the sixth. The Red Sox rallied against the Detroit bullpen, tying it on David Ortizs eighth-inning grand slam and winning it in the ninth on Jarrod Saltalamacchias walk-off single through a drawn-in infield. Both starters gave up hits in the first inning in the rematch, but it remained scoreless until Bogaerts doubled off the Green Monster with two outs in the fifth and scored on Ellsburys single. But the Tigers took the lead in the bottom half, chasing Buchholz with a walk and Miguel Cabreras single before Franklin Morales walked Prince Fielder on four pitches to load the bases with nobody out. Victor Martinez lined one high off the Green Monster to make it 2-1, holding at first with a two-run single. Brandon Workman came in and got Jhonny Peralta to hit a hard grounder to Pedroia, who chased down Martinez in the basepath for one out and then threw home to get Fielder in a rundown. Saltalamacchia ran him back to third and dove, somersaulting over him while making the tag. Workman struck out Alex Avila looking to end the inning. Scherzer worked out of a jam in the bottom half after putting runners on second and third with one out. He allowed three runs on four hits and five walks, striking out seven in 6 1-3 innings. Buchholz gave up two runs on four hits and two walks, striking out four in five-plus innings. Scherzer walked the first two batters in the third, but Victorino popped up a bunt and Scherzer made a sliding catch for the first out. Pedroia hit a high drive that was just foul of the Carlton Fisk pole above the Green Monster. After it was confirmed by replay, he hit a hard grounder down the line that Cabrera fielded, easily stepping on third base before throwing to first for the double play. NOTES: It will be the first World Series between the teams with the best record in each league since 1999. ... Detroit C Alex Avila, who absorbed a body shot and a foul ball off the mask in Game 5, took another ball off the mask in the fourth but remained in the game. ... The Dropkick Murphys sang the national anthem before the game, followed by "Shipping up to Boston," wearing Red Sox jerseys that said "Boston Strong" and the number 617. ... The Red Sox are 6-0 in Game 6 of the ALCS. ... Ellsbury had successfully stolen 18 bases in a row in the regular season and playoffs before being thrown out in the fifth. ... Victorino was hit by a pitch leading off the sixth, his sixth of the playoffs, extending his record and setting a major league record with the 10th post-season HBP of his career. Alex Rodriguez had the old record. Jim Palmer Jersey . The league announced the decision on its website Saturday, shortly before AC Milan was due to kick off against Genoa at 6 p.m. local time. The 25-year-old Morosini died about an hour earlier after suffering cardiac arrest during his teams Serie B match at Pescara. Cal Ripken Authentic Jersey . Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema scored two goals each Wednesday night in a 6-1 rout of Schalke in the first leg of their second-round matchup. "We played a very, very good match," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "We got well into the match, scored two early goals and that opened the game and left us able to counter and to use the speed of our players. NEW YORK -- Eric Young Jr. finished first, the New York Mets came in third and a sold-out crowd at Citi Field went home happy on the final day of another difficult season. Young won the National League stolen base crown with 46 and helped the Mets rally past Milwaukee 3-2 on Sunday when the Brewers botched two bunts in the eighth inning. "I just talked to him before I walked in here. Hes about as high as you can get," New York manager Terry Collins said. "Thats a great honour for him." The speedy Young swiped two bases in the first, scored on a shallow sacrifice fly and later threw out a runner at the plate from left field. He began the day tied for the NL lead in steals with Milwaukee shortstop Jean Segura, who sat out for the 10th time in 11 games. Segura returned Saturday from a strained right hamstring, but he and the Brewers didnt want to push it in the season finale, manager Ron Roenicke said. "Now after its all said and done, its a great feeling that I was able to do it. Like I said, Im glad we finished the season on a winning note," said Young, acquired from Colorado in June. "Im proud of myself. Thats my craft, stolen bases, and you always pride yourself in what your craft is." Youngs father led the NL in stolen bases with 53 for the Rockies in 1996. Playing in front of their third sellout this season, the injury-riddled Mets prevented a four-game sweep by Milwaukee and finished 74-88 for the second consecutive year. They have endured five straight losing seasons since moving into Citi Field. New York did make a bit of progress with a third-place finish in the NL East, its highest since second in 2008. The Mets had come in fourth for four consecutive years. Before the game, former slugger Mike Piazza was inducted into the teams Hall of Fame during a 30-minute ceremony on the field. After the final out, Young applauded as Mets players tossed their caps into the stands behind the dugout. "Very nice. Its indicative of the way weve gone about things: Battling, battling, battling -- battling again today to come away with a win," Collins said. "Im very proud of them. Its a good way to end the season." Center fielder Juan Lagares also cut down a Milwaukee runner at the plate in the fourth to help starter Jonathon Niese escape further damage. Marco Estrada allowed two hits in seven sharp innings for the Brewers, who finished 74-88 for fourth placce in the NL Central. Manny Machado Authentic Jersey. They had won four games in a row and 12 of 17. Estrada struck out eight and walked none. "Marco threw the ball outstanding," Roenicke said. "He pitched well enough to earn a shutout." Milwaukee scored twice on five singles and a walk in the fourth, then carried a 2-1 lead into the eighth. Lagares reached on a throwing error by shortstop Jeff Bianchi, and Juan Centeno dropped down a bunt in front of home plate. Second baseman Scooter Gennett was late covering first and bumped into umpire CB Bucknor while trying to navigate his way toward the bag. The low throw from catcher Jonathan Lucroy skipped up the right field line for an error that allowed Lagares to score all the way from first. Wilfredo Tovar sacrificed and reached safely when first baseman Sean Halton made an ill-advised throw to third. Pinch-runner Matt den Dekker beat the play, putting runners at the corners. One out later, Young drove in the go-ahead run with a dribbler to reliever Brandon Kintzler (3-3). "My gosh, not the way you want to end a season," Roenicke said. Vic Black (3-0) pitched a hitless inning for the win and Frank Francisco struck out two of three batters in the ninth for his first save since Sept. 1 last year. NOTES: Milwaukee CF Carlos Gomez stole a base to become the first Brewers player with 20 homers and 40 steals in one season. ... Brewers starters had a 2.94 ERA in September. ... Young scored on David Wrights short sacrifice fly in the first inning after stealing second and third. ... The only other Mets player to lead the league in steals was Jose Reyes, who did it from 2005-07. ... Lagares finished with 15 assists, a Mets record for rookies and the most by a rookie outfielder in the majors since Delmon Young had 16 for Tampa Bay in 2007. ... New York 2B Daniel Murphy ended the season with an 11-game hitting streak. He also had 22 consecutive stolen bases, the second-best streak in club history. ... The Mets finished 33-48 at home. Only the Chicago Cubs (31-50) were worse in the NL. ... New York went 2 for 32 (.063) with runners in scoring position during the series. ... Mets home attendance has dropped in five straight seasons for the first time in franchise history. With the crowd of 41,891 for the finale, the Mets drew 2,135,657 this year for their lowest home attendance since 1.77 million at Shea Stadium in 1997. cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
