How Sweep It is: Boston Goes for Second Title in Four Years

Oct 28, 11:15 AM

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(Sports Network) - The Boston Red Sox hope to wrap up their second World Series title in four years this evening, as they try and complete a sweep of the Colorado Rockies in the 103rd Fall Classic at Coors Field.

Boston pushed the Rockies to the brink of elimination on Saturday, as Jacoby Ellsbury went 4-for-5 with two RBI and a pair of runs scored, and Dustin Pedroia had three hits and drove in two to lead the Red Sox to a 10-5 win.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-0) was solid on the mound, allowing two runs on three hits in 5 1/3 innings, and his two-run single highlighted a six-run third inning that helped the Red Sox take a commanding three-games-to-none lead in the best-of-seven series.

The 22 previous teams that took a 3-0 World Series lead all went on to win, including the 2004 Red Sox, who swept the St. Louis Cardinals to end their 86- year title drought.

Mike Lowell also had a two-run hit during the key third inning for Boston, which has won seven straight World Series games and will go for its seventh title in franchise history tonight.

Should the Red Sox get the victory this evening they would become the first team toe sweep consecutive World Series opponents since the New York Yankees defeated San Diego in 1998 and Atlanta in 1999.

Matt Holliday hit a three-run homer for Colorado, which has lost three straight games for the first time since mid-September when the club ended a three-game slide and started an incredible run of winning 21 of 22 games heading into the World Series.

Boston will turn to left-hander Jon Lester tonight, as he starts in place of the injured Tim Wakefield, who was left off the World Series roster because of a sore shoulder.

Lester's 2006 rookie season was cut short due to cancer, but the 23-year-old hurler returned in July of this season and went 4-0 with a 4.57 earned run average in 12 games, 11 of which were starts.

In two relief appearances in these playoffs Lester has pitched to a 4.91 ERA. After giving up two runs and two hits to Cleveland in Game 2 of the ALCS, he came back with three scoreless innings in relief of Wakefield in Game 4.

Lester, who has never faced the Rockies, is 6-1 with a 4.75 ERA in 13 starts away from Fenway Park in his brief career. . Colorado will pin its hopes on right-hander Aaron Cook, who has not pitched since August 10 because of a strained oblique. The Rockies' Opening Day starter, Cook was 8-7 with a 4.12 ERA before being sidelined.

Cook was defeated by the Red Sox on June 12, but pitched well. He allowed two runs and seven hits and struck out four over 7 1/3 innings of a 2-1 loss.

The 28-year-old veteran has the daunting task tonight of slowing down a Red Sox lineup that has scored at least six runs in an inning five times this postseason, and their hitters are batting .352 (38-for-108) with 16 doubles in this series.

Boston could set the World Series record for highest team batting average, currently held by the 1960 New York Yankees squad, which hit .338 in losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates in seven games.

As hot as Boston's lineup has been this series, Colorado's bats have been that cold. After leading the National League with a .280 average during the season, the Rockies have batted just .222 here in the Fall Classic with 29 strikeouts.

When these teams met during the regular season, Colorado took two out of three from the Red Sox at Fenway in June. Colorado outscored Boston 20-5, dropping the first game before winning the next two, 12-2 and 7-1.

Game 5 of this series, if necessary, will be played at Coors Field on Monday.

10/28 10:39:13 ET