Projo Sox Blog

BEEN HERE BEFORE
This is the 16th time since the advent of the best-of-seven ALCS in 1985 that one team
has held a 3-1 series advantage . . . Of the previous 15 times, the team with the 3-1 series lead has gone on to win the series 12 times . . . The Red Sox have been the team to overcome a 3-1 deficit in each of the three exceptions - in 1986 against the California Angels; in 2004 against the New York Yankees; and in 2007 against the Cleveland Indians . . . Of the 12 times the team with a 3-1 series lead has advanced, eight of them have wrapped up the series with a Game Five win, while three have won in six games and one has been victorious in seven games.

LONGORIA SETS ROOKIE MARK
EVAN LONGORIA'S solo home run in the first inning tonight was his fifth of the postseason, and his third in as many games...The three consecutive games with a home run ties an ALCS record set by Bernie Williams of the Yankees in Games Three-Five of the 2001 ALCS against Seattle...The LCS record for consecutive games with a home run is four ...The five homers sets a new record for single postseason home runs by a rookie, passing MIGUEL CABRERA, who hit four home runs in 2003 for the Florida Marlins...Longoria homered in his first two postseason at-bats against the White Sox in Game 1 of the ALDS.

ALL ABOUT THE LONG BALL:
-- CARLOS PEÑA and EVAN LONGORIA each hit a home run in the first inning of tonight's game...It was the first time in ALCS history that a team connected for two first-inning home runs.
-- Tampa Bay has collected 16 home runs through their first eight postseason games - the first eight in franchise history...According to Elias, the Rays are now tied for the most home runs in Major League history for a club in its first postseason appearance...The 1995 Seattle Mariners also hit 16 homers, doing so in 11 games (five LDS and six LCS)...Overall, the 16 home runs is tied for 14th place all-time (tied for 8th in the A.L.) for home runs by any club in a single postseason...The 2002 San Francisco Giants hold the record with 27 home runs in 17 postseason games.
-- The Rays have hit 10 home runs through the first four games of the ALCS...That total is tied for the second-most in an ALCS, and it is the fifth time that a team has reached 10 homers in the ALCS...The Red Sox were the last team to accomplish the feat, doing so last season against Cleveland...The record for home runs in an ALCS is 12, set by the Boston Red Sox in the 2003 ALCS against the Yankees.
-- Through the first four games of this series, the Rays and Red Sox have combined to hit 15 home runs...The 15 combined homers is tied for the fifth-most in ALCS history...It is the 16th time in the 39 ALCS that the two teams have combined to hit 10-or-more home runs...The Red Sox have been involved in six of the 16 series, including the 2003 ALCS against the Yankees when the teams combined for a record 20 home runs in the seven-game series...In 2004, the Sox and the Yankees totaled 19 homers in the seven-game set, and in last year's ALCS, Boston and Cleveland hit 18 home runs over seven games...This is the third consecutive ALCS to feature at least 10 home runs, and the 12th time in the last 14 ALCS the teams have reached that plateau.
-- KEVIN CASH hit a home run in the third inning in his first career postseason at-bat...He is the third player in Red Sox history to accomplish the feat, joining JOSE SANTIAGO, who hit a home run in his first postseason in Game One of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, and TODD WALKER, who homered in his first career postseason at-bat in Game
One of the 2003 ALDS against the Oakland Athletics . . .Tampa Bay's EVAN LONGORIA also hit a home run in his first career postseason at-bat in Game One of the ALDS against the White Sox.

SCORING IN BUNCHES:
-- The Rays are the first team in LCS history to score nine runs in three consecutive games in a single LCS...Overall, they are the fourth team in postseason history to score nine runs-or-more in three straight games, joining the Yankees in 1998 (ALCS Game Six, WS Games One - Two), the Red Sox in 1999 (ALDS Games Three - Five) and the Red Sox again in 2007
(ALCS Games Six - Seven, WS Game One).
-- Tampa Bay is now 38-0 in 2008 when establishing a lead of five-or-more runs.
-- The 13 runs allowed by the Red Sox in tonight's game is tied for the third-most the Red Sox have ever allowed in the postseason...The Red Sox surrendered 13 runs in Game Two of the 2007 ALCS against Cleveland in an 11-inning game...The last time the Sox allowed 13 runs in a nine-inning postseason game was in Game One of the 2005 ALDS in a 14-2 loss...The most runs Boston has ever allowed in a postseason game came in Game Three of the 2004 ALCS in a 19-8 loss to the New York Yankees.

RAYS FINDING FENWAY SUCCESS
Dating back to the final two regular season meetings at Fenway Park, Tampa Bay has now won four straight games in Boston, matching the most consecutive wins at Boston in club history...They won four consecutive games at Fenway from April 18 - July 1, 1999.

UP, UP AND AWAY
B.J. UPTON has now hit safely in seven consecutive postseason games since going 0-for-6 in Game One of the Division Series, and is 10-for-29 (.345) with five home runs, 10 RBI and 10 runs scored since Game One of the ALDS.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
EVAN LONGORIA and B.J. UPTON have combined to hit 10 home runs this postseason, extending their record of the most home runs by a pair of teammates under the age of 25...The previous high was six, set by the Mets' DARRYL STRAWBERRY and LENNY DYKSTRA in 1986...According to SABR, the 10 combined home runs ranks fourth all-time among teammates in the postseason:

CRAWFORD HOSTS HITTING CLINIC
CARL CRAWFORD went 5-for-5 in tonight's Game Four with two singles, two doubles and a triple...The five hits matches an LCS record, joining Baltimore's PAUL BLAIR, who had five hits in Game Three of the 1969 ALCS, and HIDEKI MATSUI of the Yankees who collected five hits in Game Three of the 2004 ALCS...The five hits ties Carl Crawford's career-high for hits in a game, matching his five-hit performance on May 24, 2006 at Toronto.

AYBAR'S CAREER NIGHT
WILLY AYBAR set a career-high with five RBI in tonight's game, surpassing his previous high of
four set earlier this season on August 10th at Seattle...The five RBI is tied for the second-most RBI in an ALCS Game - the 10th time a player has driven in five runs...Boston's J.D. DREW knocked in five runs in Game Six of the 2007 ALCS and DUSTIN PEDROIA had five RBI in Game Seven of that series...JOHNNY DAMON holds the ALCS record for RBI in a game with his six-RBI performance in Game Seven of the 2004 ALCS...In addition, the four hits collected by Aybar tonight tied his career-high set on July 30, 2006 against the Mets.

WAKEFIELD'S POSTSEASON STRUGGLES CONTINUE
TIM WAKEFIELD was taken out of the game after just 2.2 innings pitched tonight, the shortest postseason start by a Sox pitcher since BRONSON ARROYO lasted 2.0 innings in Game Three of the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees...In his last four postseason starts dating back to Game One of the 2004 World Series, Wakefield is 0-3 with a 10.47 ERA...In 16.1 innings, he has allowed 20 hits and 19 earned runs with six home runs, 10 walks and 15 strikeouts.

IWAMURA'S STREAK COMES TO AN END
AKINORI IWAMURA went 0-for-4 in tonight's game, snapping his seven-game postseason hitting streak...With his walk in the sixth inning, he has now reached base safely in each of the Rays' eight postseason games.

ORTIZ BREAKS THROUGH
DAVID ORTIZ hit a triple in the seventh inning of tonight's game, his first hit of this LCS...It was his second career postseason triple, the first coming in Game One of the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees...Ortiz has now gone 57 consecutive LCS at-bats without a home run.

TIMLIN JOINS MO
Red Sox reliever MIKE TIMLIN made his 25th career LCS appearance in tonight's game, matching MARIANO RIVERA for the all-time record of 25 career LCS appearances...At 42 years, 215 days, Timlin was the oldest pitcher to ever take the loss in an ALCS game with his loss in Game Two of the ALCS.

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