BASEBALL TONIGHT EXTRA
Red Sox just keep on hitting
By Mark Simon
ESPN Research

History tells us that things don't look good for the Rockies, since no team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win the World Series. But this season has been all about making history, so don't count the Rockies out just yet.
The problem for Colorado, though, is that the Red Sox are not the Cubs or the Diamondbacks. The Red Sox are the team with the best record in baseball and they've shown why with their amazing offensive performance in the past six games. Even
Daisuke Matsuzaka got into the act in Game 3, chipping in with a two-run single. He joined Babe Ruth and Cy Young as Red Sox pitchers to get multiple RBIs in a World Series game.
RED SOX OFFENSE (IN THE PAST SIX GAMES) |
|
Last three games of LCS |
Last three games of WS |
Batting average |
.381 |
.352 |
Runs |
30 |
25 |
Extra-base hits |
16 |
17 |
WORLD SERIES GAME 4 PITCHING PREVIEW |
LHP Jon Lester, Red Sox |
• He is 0-0 with a 4.91 ERA in two postseason appearances.
• He hasn't started a game since Sept. 26 (Red Sox were 9-2 in his 11 starts).
• Key inning: He has a .333 opponents batting average in the first and fourth innings.
|
RHP Aaron Cook, Rockies |
• He was 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA in interleague play in 2007, including a loss to the Red Sox.
• He hasn't started a game since Aug. 10 (the Rockies were 10-15 in his 25 starts).
• He can hit: .238 batting average, three doubles and 13 sacrifices (tied for fourth in the National League).
|
THE WORST POSTSEASON EVER
By Jim Caple, ESPN.com
There's only one October. And thank God for that.
Oh, for a moment there, things got interesting Saturday night. Down by six runs early, the Rockies' offense finally came to life in a sudden late rally. Matt Holliday slammed a three-run homer to close the deficit to 6-5 and send an electrical charge throughout Coors Field. A guy dressed as Uncle Sam danced by a concession stand. A guy dressed as the Jolly Green Giant hollered and waved his towel. Another guy braving the 39-degree weather without a shirt hopped up and down in the aisle. And yet another guy dressed in a gorilla suit clapped his big, hairy paws together. Suddenly, unexpectedly, the World Series was fun again.
But it was only for a moment.
Then Clint Hurdle, managing his team as if he was Homer Simpson working a Rubik's cube, unaccountably removed reliever Matt Herges right after he had struck out the side in the seventh on 14 pitches. He brought in Brian Fuentes, who immediately allowed three runs, putting the game out of reach again so that it fit right back into the rest of this sorry month:
The worst postseason in baseball history.
Read Jim's entire column