BOSTON — They sure know how to stretch the baseball drama at Fenway Park.
In a game that threatened to take longer than this year's election process, the Angels kept their playoff hopes alive with a 12-inning, 5-4 win over the Red Sox.
Red Sox starter Josh Beckett was supposed to be a good bet to finish off the Angels for another ALDS sweep, but he had an abbreviated outing, not making it to the sixth inning.
Heading into the 12th, both teams had used their closers, Jonathan Papelbon for Boston and Francisco Rodriguez for the Angels. But the issue was far from settled as the fog started to roll in over the ancient ballpark.
Given the circumstances and his reputation, Beckett was supposed to be The Killer, The Dominator, The Difference Maker and the Series Closer for the Red Sox.
He was, in fact, none of those things. Instead of resembling the pitcher who's built his portfolio as a postseason monster — 6-2 with a 1.73 ERA — he looked more like the guy who was very ordinary in the regular season, going 12-10 with a 4.03 ERA.
It was apparent early on that Beckett didn't have it, and that he probably wouldn't have it for as long as manager Terry Francona chose to keep him out there.
The Angels' Mike Napoli bashed Beckett for a pair of homers that accounted for three runs and neither dinger was a cheapie.
Beckett submitted the shortest outing of his postseason career, going five innings, allowing nine hits (the most he's ever given up in the playoffs), four runs and four walks. He labored through 106 pitches. Really labored.
If Beckett is still having lingering pain from the oblique injury that forced the Red Sox to push back his start, he hid it very well. But you have to wonder. The Angels exploited him on the basepaths, with Chone Figgins easily taking second base in the second inning and Vladimir Guerrero going to third unconstested in the next inning.
However, the Angels failed to fully capitalize against a vulnerable Beckett, stranding eight runners in the time he was out there.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox offense was a little lucky against Angels starter Joe Saunders.
Trailing 1-0 in the third, Boston had the bases loaded with two outs against the Angels left-hander. Jacoby Ellsbury, who has looked sharp in this series, worked the count to 3-2, then lofted a a soft fly ball to center that should have been the final out. But second baseman Howie Kendrick backed off on the ball at the last second and Ellsbury suddenly had himself the the first three-run single in postseason history.
Beckett couldn't protect the 3-1 advantage, coughing up Napoli's two-run shot that tied it, 3-3, in the third. The Angels would add another run off Beckett in the fifth for a 4-3 lead, but Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis, who works up a sweat even when it's cold, got Beckett off the hook with a game-tying double in the bottom of the fifth.
By the time the midnight hour was approaching, Francona and his counterpart, Angels skipper Mike Scioscia, had used a total of 10 pitchers and it was still deadlocked at 4-4. Game 4 is tonight at 8:37 p.m. at Fenway Park. Game 1 winner Jon Lester will oppose Angels' ace John Lackey.
The thinking in Boston, at least from the fans, going into Game 3 was that the Angels were hopelessly out of the series. But Angels manager Mike Scioscia didn't see it that way and one of his pregame quotes turned out to be prophetic. "You know, we certainly need a deep lineup for us to get where we need to be. But I think the thing that gives us hope is that we know this stuff can turn on a dime. It can change in a heartbeat."
And it did.
