ALCS Game Five: Boston Red Sox Stage Historic Comeback Against Tampa Bay Rays to Force Game Six

J.D. Dew singled home Kevin Youkilis in the bottom of the ninth to cap the largest comeback in postseason elimination game history as the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 8-7 on Thursday night to take Game Five of the best-of-seven ALCS and send the series back to Florida.

The Red Sox fell behind 2-0 in the first inning when B.J. Upton hit a bomb off Boston starter Daisuke Matsuzaka over the Green Monster. Tampa tacked on three more runs in the top of the third with a pair of longballs as Carlos Pena hit a two-run blast to right and Evan Longoria followed with a solo homer to left and Boston trailed 5-0.

Rays starter Scott Kazmir was nearly unhittable as he kept the Red Sox off the bags surrendering just two hits over six innings but after Tampa put another two runs up in the top of the seventh with an Upton double off Jonathan Papelbon that scored Jason Bartlett and Akinori Iwamura it looked as if the Rays had put the game away and manager Joe Maddon lifted him for Grant Balfour in the bottom of the seventh.

After Balfour gave up a leadoff double to Jed Lowrie he got Jason Varitek to fly out to center and Mark Kotsay followed with a easy out to center. Coco Crisp singled to left to push Lowrie over to third and Dustin Pedroia punched a single to right to plate the Red Sox first run.

Balfour then gave up a long three-run home run to David Ortiz that gave the Sox some life and they headed into the top of the eighth trailing 7-4.

Papelbon set the Rays down in order in the top of the eighth bringing the Red Sox bats back to the plate to face Dan Wheeler who had replaced Balfour. After walking Jason Bay to start the frame Drew delivered a shot over the right field wall to trim the Red Sox deficit to 7-6. Wheeler then got Lowrie to fly out to left and Sean Casey, hitting for Varitek, struck out but Kotsay lined a double over the head of Upton in center and Crisp came up with an incredible at-bat and on Wheeler’s tenth pitch he lined a single to right that scored Kotsay and the game was tied.

Boston went with Justin Masterson in the ninth and he worked himself out of a one-out first and second jam by getting Pena to ground into a double play to end the inning.

In the bottom half of the frame the Red Sox were facing J.P. Howell who set Pedroia down on a groundout to Bartlett and Ortiz went down swinging but Youkilis reached on an infield single to third and advanced to second on Longoria’s errant throw. Howell then intentionally walked Bay, setting up Drew’s heroics. On a 3-1 count Drew lined a Howell delivery over the head of Gabe Gross in right and Youkilis skipped home for the winning run.

Boston’s win forces a Game Six in Tampa on Saturday.

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