ALCS, BOS Wins series 4-3. Then we've come here to write about all that was memorable, and all that we might have forgotten too. Gamecast Gamecast; Recap Recap; Box Score Box Score; Play-by … In a series in which all seven games were won by the home team, the Cardinals won 4–3 to advance to the World Series against the American League champion Boston Red Sox. I will never understand how Red Sox fans could ever boo the guy, even after he joined the vanquished enemy a few seasons later. Bronson Arroyo took the mound for Boston in the eighth and, with one out, allowed a Miguel Cairo double. A rematch of the 2003 American League Championship Series, it was played between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, at Fenway Park and the original Yankee Stadium, from October 12 to 20, 2004. Finn was named a top-100 Twitter follow in sports by Sports Illustrated. Schilling pitched with a torn tendon sheath in his right ankle, which was sutured in place in an unprecedented procedure by Red Sox team doctors. [31][32] The starting pitchers were Kevin Brown for the Yankees and Bronson Arroyo for the Red Sox. Like I said: Helpful. [10] However, the Yankees held strong and won the division, finishing three games ahead of the Red Sox. I'll never fault anyone for handing the baseball to Pedro Martinez, but there is no denying that he was Yankees' fans favorite adversary to antagonize, and his presence in this game woke up the jackals, if not the ghosts. Gordon was replaced by Mariano Rivera with the lead still intact, but Jason Varitek's sacrifice fly tied the game. The lead lasted less than an inning. Alex Rodriguez grounded a ball to Arroyo, who picked up the ball and ran to the baseline to tag Rodriguez out, but Rodriguez slapped Arroyo's arm, knocking the ball loose. Alex Rodríguez then hit a two-run home run over the Green Monster. I don't know why. Fox started focusing on him in the bullpen in the fourth inning. As a fledgling copy editor at the Globe in October 2004, I had no outlet to write about these games, the ones I'd always dreamed of writing about. Mike Timlin pitched a scoreless eighth and started the 9th for the Red Sox, but allowed a leadoff single to Matsui and walked Lofton with two outs. The 2004 National League Championship Series (NLCS) was a Major League Baseball playoff series played from October 13 to 21 to determine the champion of the National League, between the Central Division champion St. Louis Cardinals and the wild-card qualifying Houston Astros. After another long conversation among the umpires, Rodríguez was called out for interference and Jeter was ordered back to first, thus wiping out the score. The box score below is an accurate record of events for the baseball contest played on October 17, 2004 at Fenway Park. Gary Sheffield then walked and Hideki Matsui doubled, prompting Bronson Arroyo to be replaced on the mound by Ramiro Mendoza, who immediately allowed a Bernie Williams RBI single and then balked, allowing Matsui to score from third, which gave the Yankees a 6–4 lead. leadoff double to Hideki Matsui, who scored on Bernie Williams's double. But if anything in Boston sports history is worth reminiscing about at any opportunity, isn't it this? Yankees fans were absolutely giddy to see Pedro come into the game. Pedro got out of it, eventually, dialing up a couple of 97 mph fastballs to escape further damage .... You know when I knew it was really over? There was such a long way to go. This is where a lot of hearts were broken, and we're in a perfect seat to stop the hurting. 101-61, 57-24 Home. I did not call my dad. Pedro gave up an RBI single to Kenny Lofton to make it 8-3 with just one out, but then retired John Olerud and Miguel Cairo (with Jeter lurking on deck) to escape his lone inning. He's not gonna be quiet, is he? Torre also admitted that had he known beforehand how bad the injury really was, it might have changed his mind. Saturday, October 16, 2004 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. Contreras was signed away from the Red Sox before the 2003 season, but he failed to live up to expectations. Each team got its share of base runners in extra innings. "The Bloody Sock Game" But Damon hit a second homer, merely a two-run shot, off Vazquez in the fourth for an 8-1 lead. The Sox hit two singles in the top of the ninth inning off of Rivera, but the game ended when Bill Mueller grounded into a double play. With the Red Sox down to their final three outs, Rivera checked Roberts at first base several times before throwing a pitch to Bill Mueller. Pujols's single with two on in the fourth put the Cardinals up 5−3, but the Astros cut the lead back to one on Berkman's leadoff home run in the sixth off Kiko Calero. For the Yankees, this was their first time losing an ALCS in eight appearances (their last ALCS elimination was in 1980). After the game, Schilling proudly wore his shirt with the Red Sox's motto, "Why Not Us?" But now the Red Sox, the 26th team in Major League Baseball playoff history to face a 3–0 series deficit, became the first to force a Game Seven. After Brown gave up a one-out single to Kevin Millar, then walked Bill Mueller and Orlando Cabrera in succession, he was yanked by Joe Torre, who swapped death stares with Brown. Soon it will be over, and we will spend another dreary winter lamenting this and lamenting that. 2004 NLCS (4–3): St. Louis Cardinals over Houston Astros, "2004 NLCS Game 1 - Houston Astros vs. St. Louis Cardinals", "2004 NLCS Game 2 - Houston Astros vs. St. Louis Cardinals", "2004 NLCS Game 3 - St. Louis Cardinals vs. Houston Astros", "2004 NLCS Game 4 - St. Louis Cardinals vs. Houston Astros", "2004 NLCS Game 5 - St. Louis Cardinals vs. Houston Astros", "2004 NLCS Game 6 - Houston Astros vs. St. Louis Cardinals", "2004 NLCS Game 7 - Houston Astros vs. St. Louis Cardinals", 1998 Major League Baseball home run record chase, The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty (2001), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2004_National_League_Championship_Series&oldid=984564217, October 2004 sports events in the United States, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 20 October 2020, at 19:45. Red Sox/MLB, Ad Choices | ©2014 Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC, I still haven't found what I'm looking for, Ranking the Patriots’ playoff losses during the Tom Brady era, Red Sox fans will never forget Dave Henderson’s ’86 home run or timeless smile, Twenty-plus years after he left the Red Sox, Wade Boggs will achieve his most impressive number, Every matchup between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, The best player in each NBA draft of the last 20 years, Love and basketball: A father, a daughter, and the bonds of the game, 'It Was Like Living in a Video Game': An Oral History of Larry Bird's 60-Point Game. The Red Sox would sweep the Anaheim Angels in three games, but at a cost. With two outs and nobody on in the third inning, Derek Jeter singled. Torre then replaced Brown with Javier Vázquez to face Johnny Damon, who hammered his first pitch into the right-field seats for a grand slam to make the score 6–0 Boston. As a fledgling copy editor at the Globe in October 2004, I had no outlet to write about these games, the ones I'd always dreamed of writing about. Because if they blow this, I'm out. Saturday, October 16, 2004 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. However, they eventually did score first. Matsui's single scored a run, Williams's double scored two, and Jorge Posada's double scored another. Vazquez walked Cabrera to lead off the fourth before Damon again homered on his first pitch to make it 8–1 Boston and give him three hits and six RBIs in this game. Then, amid "PAYYYY-DRO!!" ... Buck and McCarver explain that Lowe was the choice to start Game 7 because Tim Wakefield had thrown 108 pitches over the previous three games. The 2004 Yankees began the season in Tokyo with a split against the Rays. The Cardinals answered with a home run by Albert Pujols in the bottom half after a one-out triple off Brandon Backe, tying the game at two. The police remained on the field, near the first and third base walls, for the remainder of the top of the ninth. [11] Outfielder Johnny Damon said of Boone's home run: "If we do advance to the World Series and win, it's a better story that we went through New York. "There's not any Red Sox fan, in New England or anywhere else,: he says, "who is comfortable with a 6-0 lead in the second inning." Rivera shut down the Red Sox in the ninth by inducing a groundout by Mark Bellhorn, and, after giving up a double to Manny Ramírez, striking out David Ortiz and Millar, ending the game. The police vacated the field during the break between innings. Game 7. The "Who's your daddy?" "[19], The New York Times said that this was the showdown the Yankees anticipated the entire season, while the Red Sox craved it an entire year. Real-time MLB Baseball scores on ESPN. "[18], Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe wrote that "one year after they (Yankees) jousted to the (Sox's) finish in the Bronx last October in an epic seventh game that appeared to take the clash to its zenith they go at it again..."[19] In this series, Alex Rodriguez seemed to answer the Sox' acquisition of Curt Schilling, as the two veteran stars faced each other, "wearing the uniforms of the ancient rivals in an October game..."[19] Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina summed up the build-up: "This is what everyone was hoping for...It's a rematch of last year, with the best two teams in the American League. The Red Sox answered in the second inning with a leadoff walk by Jason Varitek and a Trot Nixon home run to right field. From that point on the Yankees were in total control, with the New York offense continuing to hit and score runs long into the night. Then Orlando Cabrera singled to left field and Mark Bellhorn, who had struggled the entire series, drove a line drive into the left field stands. The late inning heroics of Ortiz also gave the Red Sox fans a chance to create their own chant, "Who's your Papi?" The Yankees meanwhile, had Bucky Dent, the hero of the Yankees' one-game playoff against Boston in 1978, throw out the ceremonial first pitch.