2007 American League Championship Series
From SoSH
Overview
The 2007 American League Division Series featured the AL East Champion Boston Red Sox (96-66) versus the AL Central Champion Cleveland Indians (96-66). The Red Sox were awarded home field advantage by virtue of winning the season series between the two clubs. The Red Sox advanced after sweeping the Angels in the 2007 American League Division Series. The Indians defeated the Yankees in 4 games.
The Red Sox defeated the Indians in seven games, 4-3, and advanced to the 2007 World Series to play the National League champion Colorado Rockies.
- Managers: Terry Francona (Boston) & Eric Wedge (Cleveland)
- Venues: Fenway Park (Boston) & Jacobs Field (Cleveland)
- MVP: Josh Beckett (Boston)
Schedule
- Game 1: Friday October 12th, 7:00 pm at Fenway Park
- Pitching Matchup: Sabathia v. Beckett
- Game 2: Saturday October 13th, 8:00 pm at Fenway Park
- Pitching Matchup: Carmona v. Schilling
- Game 3: Monday October 15th, 7:00 pm at Jacobs Field
- Pitching Matchup: Westbrook v. Matsuzaka
- Game 4: Tuesday October 16th, 8:00 pm at Jacobs Field
- Pitching Matchup: Byrd v. Wakefield
- Game 5: Thursday October 18th, 8:00 pm at Jacobs Field
- Pitching Matchup: Sabathia v. Beckett
- Game 6: Saturday October 20th, 8:00 at Fenway Park
- Pitching Matchup: Carmona v. Schilling
- Game 7: Sunday October 21th, 8:00 at Fenway Park
- Pitching Matchup: Westbrook v. Matsuzaka
Boxscores
Game 1: October 12, 2007 at Fenway Park
Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell made life miserable for Cleveland pitchers on another winning night at Fenway Park. The Sox sluggers each drove in three runs, and starter Josh Beckett sailed on the hill for six innings in Game 1.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Indians | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| Boston Red Sox | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | X | 10 | 12 | 0 |
| W: Josh Beckett L: C.C. Sabathia S: None | ||||||||||||
| HR: CLE: Travis Hafner (1) BOS: None | ||||||||||||
Game 2: October 13, 2007 at Fenway Park
Manny Ramirez went deep to highlight a raucous fifth inning that gave the Red Sox the lead, but the Indians clawed back and eventually roughed up reliever Eric Gagne late to cap the five-hour, 14-minute game.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Indians | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 17 | 0 |
| Boston Red Sox | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 0 |
| W: Tom Mastny L: Eric Gagne S: None | ||||||||||||||
| HR: CLE: Jhonny Peralta (1), Grady Sizemore (1), Franklin Gutierrez (1) BOS: Manny Ramirez (1), Mike Lowell (1) | ||||||||||||||
Game 3: October 15, 2007 at Jacobs Field
Like in his last playoff start, Daisuke Matsuzaka couldn't make it out of the fifth inning as the Red Sox fell behind against the Indians. Jason Varitek ripped his first homer of the postseason, but the two-run shot in the seventh wasn't enough to rally Boston.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| Cleveland Indians | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 4 | 6 | 1 |
| W: Jake Westbrook (1-0) L: Daisuke Matsuzaka (0-1) S: Joe Borowski (1) | ||||||||||||
| HR: BOS: Jason Varitek (1) CLE: Kenny Lofton (1) | ||||||||||||
Game 4: October 16, 2007 at Jacobs Field
Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez homered one after the other in the sixth, but by then the damage was done as the Red Sox dropped their third straight in the series. Starter Tim Wakefield sailed until the fifth.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
| Cleveland Indians | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 7 | 9 | 0 |
| W: Paul Byrd (1-0) L: Tim Wakefield (0-1) S: None | ||||||||||||
| HR: BOS: Kevin Youkilis (1), David Ortiz (1), Manny Ramirez (2) CLE: Casey Blake (1), Jhonny Peralta (2) | ||||||||||||
Game 5: October 18, 2007 at Jacobs Field
The ending of this series will be written at Fenway Park. An emotional Josh Beckett mowed down the Indians, while Kevin Youkilis homered and tripled to drive in three runs as the Red Sox sent the series back to Boston.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 1 |
| Cleveland Indians | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| W: Josh Beckett (2-0) L: C.C. Sabathia (0-2) S: None | ||||||||||||
| HR: BOS: Kevin Youkilis (2) CLE: None | ||||||||||||
Game 7: October 20, 2007 at Fenway Park
J.D. Drew's first-inning grand slam got the Red Sox off and swinging as their rally to knot the series became complete. Starter Curt Schilling sparkled and got a huge boost with six runs of support in the third.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Indians | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| Boston Red Sox | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | X | 12 | 13 | 0 |
| W: Curt Schilling (1-0) L: Fausto Carmona (0-1) S: None | ||||||||||||
| HR: CLE: Victor Martinez (1) BOS: J.D. Drew (1) | ||||||||||||
Game 7: October 21, 2007 at Fenway Park
The Red Sox are the AL's best as they rode the home crowd and Dustin Pedroia's five RBIs to surge past the Indians. Daisuke Matsuzaka's solid start and a six-out save by closer Jonathan Papelbon bookended Boston's return to the Fall Classic.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Indians | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 1 |
| Boston Red Sox | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | X | 11 | 15 | 1 |
| W: Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-1) L: Jake Westbrook (1-1) S: Jonathan Papelbon (1) | ||||||||||||
| HR: CLE: None BOS: Dustin Pedroia (1), Kevin Youkilis (3) | ||||||||||||
Trivia
- This marks the fourth time the Red Sox and Indians have matched up in the postseason since the Wild Card was introduced. The Indians won the 1995 ALDS and the 1998 ALDS, and the Red Sox overcame an 0-2 deficit to win the 1999 ALDS in dramatic fashion.
- Of the players on their respective 2007 rosters, Tim Wakefield, Manny Ramirez and Kenny Lofton played in all 3 series, and Trot Nixon and Jason Varitek played in the 1999 ALDS.
- Daisuke Matsuzaka was the first rookie ever to start an ALCS Game 7
- All games for the 2007 ALCS were broadcast on FOX, with announcing by Tim McCarver and Joe Buck.
Links
- Series Page - Courtesy of MLB.com
