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October 20, 2007
WHAT’S AT STAKE? Cleveland can clinch its sixth World Series berth with a victory tonight in Game Six . . . Cleveland last won an American League pennant in 1997, defeating the Baltimore Orioles in six games . . . The Red Sox are looking to extend this series to a decisive seventh game, which would be played at 8:23 p.m. Sunday at Fenway Park . . . Boston is in search of its 11th World Series bid.
LIVING ONE MORE DAY: The Red Sox captured Game Five to prolong this series for another game, the 14th time in LCS history a team has fallen behind 3-1, but won Game Five to extend the series . . . Of the 13 previous occasions a team has rallied to 3-2 from a 3-1 deficit, six times a team has won Game Six to force a Game Seven . . . Seven times, a team holding a 3-1 advantage before losing in Game Five has won the series in Game Six, with 3 of the 7 Game Six victories coming on the road:
SERIES -- After 4 games -- Game 5 Result -- Game 6 Result
1990 NLCS -- CIN 3-1 -- at PIT 3, CIN2 -- at CIN 2, PIT 1
1992 ALCS -- TOR 3-1 -- at OAK 6, TOR 2 -- at TOR 9, OAK 2
1997 ALCS -- CLE 3-1 -- BAL 4, at CLE 2 -- CLE 1, at BAL 0 (11 inn.)
1998 NLCS -- SD 3-1 -- ATL 7, at SD 6 -- SD 5, at ATL 0
1999 NLCS -- ATL 3-1 -- at NY 4, ATL 3 (15 inn.) -- at ATL 10, NY 9 (11 inn.)
2000 ALCS -- NYY 3-1 -- at SEA 6, NYY 2 -- at NYY 9, SEA 7
2005 NLCS -- HOU 3-1 -- STL 5, at HOU 4 -- HOU 5, at STL 1
THE CHOSEN FIVE: Five times a team rallying from 3-1 to 3-3 has taken the series in 7 games, most recently the 2004 Boston Red Sox . . . Boston is the only club ever to rally from two 3-1 deficits (1986 and 2004) to win an LCS.
Series/After 4 games -- Game 5 Result -- Game 6 Result -- Game 7 Result
1985 ALCS -- TOR 3-1 -- at KC 2, TOR 0 -- KC 5, at TOR 3 -- KC 6, at TOR 2
1986 ALCS -- CAL 3-1 -- BOS 7, at CAL 6 (11) -- at BOS 10, CAL 4 -- at BOS 8, CAL 1
1996 NLCS -- STL 3-1 -- ATL 14, at STL 0 -- at ATL 3, STL 1 -- at ATL 15, STL 0
2003 NLCS -- CHI 3-1 -- at FLA 4, CHI 0 -- FLA 8, at CHI 3 -- FLA 9, at CHI 6
2004 ALCS -- NYY 3-1 -- at BOS 5, NYY 4 (14) -- BOS 4, at NYY 2 -- BOS 10, at NYY 3
THE ONE EXCEPTION: Of those six teams to record wins in Games Five and Six when trailing 3-1, only once has a team not advanced to the World Series . . . The 1992 Atlanta Braves built a 3-1 lead before losing Game Five at
Pittsburgh and Game Six at home . . . In Game Seven, one of postseason’s most memorable moments, SID BREAM scored the winning run on FRANCISCO CABRERA’s ninth-inning single to send the Braves to their second straight World Series:
Series/After 4 games -- Game 5 Result -- Game 6 Result -- Game 7 Result
1992 NLCS -- ATL 3-1 -- at PIT 7, ATL 1 -- PIT 13, at ATL 4 -- ATL in 7 (3-2)
POSTSEASON OVERALL: Factoring in 18 World Series matchups, on 31 occasions a team has started 3-1 but lost Game Five in a best-of-seven postseason series . . . Of the 31, 17 times that club has won the series in six games and four times those teams have won in seven games . . . Ten times teams rallying from 3-1 deficits have won the series.
FAMILIAR ROAD FOR TRIBE: The Indians have twice won Game Six of an ALCS on the road to clinch the A.L. pennant . . . Cleveland won at Seattle, 4-0, in Game Six of the 1995 ALCS, while winning Game Six at Baltimore, 1-0,
in 11 innings in 1997 . . . This series has mirrored Cleveland’s 1997 run to the A.L. pennant, following the same format through five games as its series against Baltimore in the 1997 ALCS…In that series, Baltimore won Game One at home, 3-0, before Cleveland rolled off three straight victories . . . In Game Five, with a chance to close out the series in Cleveland at Jacobs Field, the Orioles stymied the Indians, 4-2…Cleveland would win the series in Game Six on a solo home run by TONY FERNANDEZ in the 11th inning for the only run of the game.
DEFYING ELIMINATION: Boston has won five straight LCS elimination games and 6 of 7 LCS elimination games overall since staving off elimination in Game Six of the 2003 ALCS at New York . . . The Red Sox are 22-11 all-time in postseason elimination games, going 9-2 in their last 11 elimination chances (losing Game Seven of the 2003 ALCS, Game Three of the 2005 ALDS) . . . Since 1999, Boston is 7-2 in elimination games here at Fenway Park, losing the 2005 ALDS to Chicago and the 1999 ALCS against New York . . . The Red Sox have never been eliminated in three previous ALCS Game Six appearances, winning Game Six in 1986, 2003 and 2004, to force Game Seven.
OCTOBER 20 BASEBALL: On just two previous occasions has the ALCS been played as late as October 20 . . . In 2004, Boston won Game Seven at New York to complete its 0-3 comeback for the A.L. pennant on this date, with a 10-3 victory, the team’s fourth straight win…That 2004 Boston victory marked the first (and only) time in postseason history a team rallied from an 0-3 deficit to win a series…Also on this date in 2001, Seattle recorded its lone ALCS victory with a 14-3 win at Yankee Stadium, though New York would win the series in five games.
THE SCHILL OF AN EARLY FALL: CURT SCHILLING makes his 18th career postseason start tonight . . . In 17 postseason beginnings, Schilling is 9-2, 2.23 (30 er/121 ip) with four complete games . . . His teams are 12-5 in
postseason games in which he has started . . . Including Game Three of the 2007 ALDS, Schilling has made 8 career postseason starts coming in Games Three through Seven of a series, posting a 5-0, 0.99 (7 er/63.1 ip) era in that span . . . Tonight marks the fifth time Schilling has started an elimination game for his team . . . In four previous elimination starts, Schilling is 3-0, 1.11 era (4 er/32.1 ip),as his club has won each start:
Series -- Game -- Date -- Result -- Pitching Line -- Series Result
1993 WS -- Gm. 5 -- 10/21 -- 2-0 Win -- W -- CG, 9 ip, 5 h, 0 r, 3 bb, 6 so, 148 pitches -- PHI loses in 6
2001 NLDS -- Gm. 5 -- 10/14 -- 2-1 Win -- W -- CG, 9 ip, 6 h, 1 r-er, 1 bb, 9 so, 1 hr, 121 pitches -- AZ wins in 5
2001 WS -- Gm. 7 -- 11/4 -- 3-2 Win -- ND -- 7.1 ip, 6 h, 2 r-er, 0 bb, 9 so, 1 hr, 103 pitches -- AZ wins in 7
2004 ALCS -- Gm. 6 -- 10/19 -- 4-2 Win -- W -- 7 ip, 4 h, 1 r-er, 0 bb, 4 so, 1 hr, 124 pitches -- BOS wins in 7
TWIN KILLING: Boston’s current pitching rotation features two of the top four eras in postseason among active pitchers with at least 50.0 career innings pitched in the postseason . . . JOSH BECKETT (1.78) ranks 2nd to MARIANO
RIVERA (0.77), while CURT SCHILLING (2.23) is 4th behind MIKE STANTON (2.10).
MINUS BECKETT: Both Red Sox wins in this series have come with JOSH BECKETT on the hill, posting a 1.93 era (3 er/14 ip) with just one walk and 18 strikeouts in 2 starts . . . The other 3 Boston starters are a combined 0-2, 9.00 (14
er/14 ip) in the 3 Red Sox losses of this series.
HISTORIC RED SOCK: Three years ago, in Game Six of the 2004 ALCS featuring Boston and New York, Schilling kept the Red Sox dream of the World Series alive for another day, defeating the New York Yankees and JON LIEBER, 4-2, at Yankee Stadium on October 19 . . . Schilling allowed just 4 hits and one earned run on 124 pitches while nursing a severely injured right ankle . . . During the start, Schilling’s ankle injury bled through his sock . . . The historic red sock, along with the spikes worn by Schilling during that 2004 postseason, is currently on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.
TRIBE PRIDE: Though the ALCS has returned to Boston, it doesn’t mean that Jacobs Field will be empty tonight . . . The Indians are hosting a ''Tribe Pride Party'' for Game Six in Cleveland, providing free admission for the lower bowl seating to watch the game on the Indians’ big scoreboard . . . Should a Game Seven be necessary, the Indians will host another “Tribe Pride Party” on Sunday.
NO SAVING GRACE: Cleveland reliever JOE BOROWSKI has the lone save of this series, recording it in Game Three, the lowest save total between 2 teams in 5 ALCS games since 2005, when Anaheim and Chicago combined on just one save (FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ, Gm. 1) . . . That series featured complete games in each of the 4 Chicago wins . . . The last series with as few as one save for both teams combined without multiple complete games came in the 1985 ALCS, when DAN QUISENBERRY saved Game Six, the only save of the series for the two teams.
K-LEVELAND: Cleveland has struck out 10-or-more times at the plate in three consecutive games, one off the postseason record of four set by Seattle in 1997 . . . The Indians have struck out 34 times during that three-game
stretch . . . On the flip side, Boston is just one off the post-season record with three consecutive games of 10-or-more strikeouts, with four being done only once by Baltimore in 1997 (also against the Indians) . . . The three consecutive 10+ strikeout games by the Red Sox hurlers sets an ALCS record, and equals an LCS record, last accomplished by the Arizona Diamondbacks (2001-07).
HITTING STREAKS: MANNY RAMIREZ has hit safely in 15 straight LCS games, matching PETE ROSE for the longest streak in LCS history (1973-’83)…Manny’s streak began with Game 5 of the 2003 ALCS . . . Ramirez has hit safely in all 8 games this postseason, along with teammate DAVID ORTIZ, the longest in this postseason . . . Ortiz has now hit safely in 13 straight postseason games, dating back to Game Three of the 2004 World Series, matching 7 others for the ninth-longest in postseason history…TIM RAINES and BROOKS ROBINSON are next on the list at 14 straight.
ROAD TEAMS CAN CLINCH: Since 2001, six of 12 LCS champions have clinched a World Series berth on the road, with at least one LCS team winning on the road to clinch in each year during that span except for 2002 . . . Since 1985, 20 LCS champions have clinched on the road, most recently St. Louis at New York in Game Seven in 2006.
STATS BIN: Boston has won 7 of its last 9 postseason games here at Fenway Park . . . The Indians are 4-3 here at Fenway in postseason play and now 11-6 all-time against Boston in the postseason . . . DAVID ORTIZ established an
LCS record with 2 sacrifice flies in Game Five . . . The Indians did not homer for the first time this postseason in Game Five of this series, snapping their streak at 7 straight . . . KEVIN YOUKILIS has homered in consecutive LCS games, making him the just the sixth Red Sox to accomplish that feat, the first since MARK BELLHORN homered in back-to-back games vs. the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS . . . JACOBY ELLSBURY will become the first rookie outfielder to start a postseason game for the Red Sox since TROT NIXON in 1999 . . . He is starting in centerfield, batting 8th.
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