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Associated PressRED SOX 4, A'S 3: Manny Ramirez homers, Derek Lowe stops rally in ninth as Boston caps its ALDS comeback.
OAKLAND, Calif. - Pedro Martinez, Johnny Damon, Manny Ramirez and even that maligned Boston bullpen; they all were tougher than any curse.
After Martinez's pitching and Ramirez's three-run homer staked the Red Sox to a lead, starter turned reliever Derek Lowe pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth as the Red Sox completed a three-game playoff comeback, beating the Athletics 4-3 Monday night in Game 5 of their AL division series.
Lowe struck out pinch-hitters Adam Melhuse and Terrence Long on called strikes in the ninth to finish Boston's fourth playoff series victory since its last World Series title in 1918.
"It's not like anything I've ever felt before," Lowe said. "It's a win for Boston, for the Red Sox nation."
Boston meets the Yankees, its traditional rival, in the AL Championship Series starting Wednesday night in New York, but the Red Sox had to make a memorable stand in the ninth to get there.
And for once, good luck was wearing Red Sox in October.
"It feels pretty good, to tell you the truth," Boston manager Grady Little said. "Every single game in this series was outstanding. I think it was nothing short of what people expected, and it was all brought about by some outstanding pitching by both teams."
While Boston's players doused each other with champagne, Oakland's frustration extended to its fourth season. The A's have lost nine straight games in which they could have clinched a postseason series, extending a major-league record.
Many Oakland players were distraught after the final game of an extraordinarily tense series. Several Boston players took the field, leading the cheers and shaking hands with more than a thousand fans who stood, screamed and chanted late into a gorgeous California night.
It wasn't so gorgeous for the Red Sox minutes earlier. Reliever Scott Williamson, making his fifth straight appearance for Boston, led off the inning by walking Scott Hatteberg and Jose Guillen.
Little went to Lowe, the Game 3 starter and Game 1 loser out of the bullpen. This time, Boston's No. 2 starter came through, but barely.
After Ramon Hernandez bunted pinch-runner Eric Byrnes and Guillen into scoring position, Lowe threw a called third strike past Melhuse, the A's seldom-used backup catcher who had three hits in Game 4 Sunday.
Lowe then walked Chris Singleton, loading the bases. The A's countered with Long, who was 2-for-7 in the series.
Long took an inside fastball for another called third strike, and the Boston bench and bullpen emptied onto the field in celebration.
"I looked at it, and I thought I had a chance," Long said. "I didn't get the hit. I thought that he would throw something up. I didn't want to swing at a bad pitch."
Lowe also offended the Oakland bench by making several obscene gestures toward the dugout after the final strikeout. Miguel Tejada was reduced to screams and tears in the clubhouse, vowing Lowe was "going to pay" for it.
The game began as a tense duel between former Cy Young Award winners Martinez and Barry Zito.
Boston took a 4-1 lead on Ramirez's homer, punctuated by a showboating walk to first base.
Oakland battled back with runs on Tejada's double in the sixth and pinch-hitter Billy McMillon's run-scoring single in the eighth, which chased Martinez.
But Boston's relief crew, which blew Game 1 and numerous leads during the regular season, bailed out Martinez with three straight outs in the eighth after the ace allowed two hits and a run.