ALCS Game 3: Red Sox vs Indians

With the series tied at one game apiece, it was clear that Game 3 was to be pivotal in determining the final outcome of the ALCS.

With that in mind, the Red Sox needed a shut down performance from Daisuke Matsuzaka or a good offensive performance against Jake Westbrook. Unfortunately, they got neither of the two. Matsuzaka didn't pitch terribly, but he was far from shutting the Indians down. The scoring began in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Matsuzaka had recorded 2 outs and the Indians had a man on base with Kenny Lofton at the plate. Lofton got the fastball that he wanted and took the Red Sox rookie deep to put the Indians up 2-0.

The Indians padded that lead in the bottom of the 5th inning after Matsuzaka and the Red Sox narrowly missed getting out of the inning with a nifty double play thanks to Dustin Pedroia. Unfortunately, Pedroia's strong throw was beaten to the bag by hundredths of a second. The Indians scored a run on that play after already scoring a run earlier in the inning to make it 4-0.

The Red Sox showed signs of life in the top of the 7th inning when Jason Varitek clubbed a 2-run homerun off of Jake Westbrook. Following the homerun, Westbrook's night was finished with 6.2 innings pitched and 2 runs against.

The Indians bullpen, which has been very strong this postseason, finished off the Red Sox. Jensen Lewis, Rafael Betancourt, and Joe Borowski finished the job and put the Indians up 2-1 in the series with 2 games remaining at Jacobs Field.