BASEBALL PLAYOFFS Red Sox complete comeback on A's with Game 5 win

Boston became the seventh team to overcome a 0-2 deficit and win the series.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- The Babe, Bucky and Buckner stepped aside for Game 5, and the Boston Red Sox had all the tenacity and poise -- and downright luck -- that has eluded them for decades.
In the Oakland clubhouse, the young Athletics wondered if they're mired in the early stages of baseball's next great curse.
Boston completed a thrilling three-game playoff comeback Monday night, beating the A's 4-3 to win the AL division series.
After Pedro Martinez's pitching and Manny Ramirez's three-run homer staked Boston to a tenuous lead, starter-turned-reliever Derek Lowe worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth.
"I'm just glad we're moving on, taking another step," said catcher Jason Varitek, who homered shortly before Ramirez's blast. "This was such a difficult series. It felt like we had the weight of the world on our shoulders in every game."
Well, maybe the weight of history -- but so far, this team has been capable of shrugging it off.
Meet Yankees next
Boston became the seventh team to overcome an 0-2 deficit in a best-of-5 series, advancing to face the Yankees in the AL championship series starting Wednesday night in New York.
Lowe retired pinch-hitters Adam Melhuse and Terrence Long on called third strikes to finish Boston's fourth playoff series victory since its last World Series title in 1918.
Afterward, thousands of fans from every corner of the Coliseum streamed down behind the Boston dugout. The champagne-drenched players soon joined them, leading the cheers and shaking hands.
"It feels pretty good, to tell you the truth," 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."
Boston's devoted fans know the list of the franchise's tragedies: the trade of Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1920; Bucky Dent's homer over the Green Monster that propelled New York to victory in a 1978 AL East playoff; Bill Buckner's error that helped cost the Red Sox the 1986 World Series against the Mets.
A's problems continue
While it all could end this season, the A's postseason problems reached another low with their fourth straight Game 5 loss in the division series. The A's have lost nine straight games in which they could have advanced, extending a major league record.
"We have an issue that we can't put the postseason away," said Barry Zito, who threw five scoreless innings before unraveling in the sixth. "This was a great game. All five games were the best games I've ever played in."
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.
After Ramon Hernandez bunted pinch-runner Eric Byrnes and Guillen into scoring position, Lowe threw a called third strike past Melhuse -- a 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, 2-for-7 in the series. Long took an inside fastball for another called third strike.
"I looked at it, and I thought I had a chance," Long said.
Johnny Damon, Boston's leadoff hitter and center fielder, left the field in an ambulance after he was knocked unconscious with a concussion in a head-to-head collision with second baseman Damian Jackson. Damon, awake and alert, raised his hand to cheers as he was loaded into the ambulance on a stretcher.
Boston already was up 4-1 on Ramirez's sixth-inning 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 eighth-inning RBI single, which chased Martinez.
BOSTONOAKLAND
abrhbiabrhbi
Damon cf2110MEllis 2b3000
ABrwn cf1000McMln ph1011
Grcprr ss4000Mnchno 2b0000
TWalkr 2b2100Long ph1000
DJcksn 2b1000Durazo dh4110
MRmrz lf4113EChavz 3b4000
DOrtiz dh4010Tejada ss4011
Kapler dh0000Httberg 1b2100
Millar 1b4020Byrnes pr0000
Mueller 3b3000JGillen lf3021
Nixon rf4000RaHrdz c2000
Varitek c3111Dye rf3010
Mlhuse ph1000
Snglton cf3110
Totals32464Totals31373
Boston000004000--4
Oakland000101010--3
LOB--Boston 4, Oakland 7. 2B--Durazo (2), Tejada (1), JGuillen (1), Singleton (2). HR--MRamirez (1), Varitek (2). SB--Damon (2). S--RaHernandez.
IPHRERBBSO
Boston
PMartinez W,1-0773316
Embree2-300000
Timlin1-300000
Williamson000020
DLowe S,1100012
Oakland
Zito L,1-1644424
Lilly200002
Bradford1-320001
Rincon2-300001
PMartinez pitched to 2 batters in the 8th, Williamson pitched to 2 batters in the 9th. HBP--by Zito (TWalker), by PMartinez (RaHernandez). Umpires--Home, Tim Welke; First, Greg Gibson; Second, Randy Marsh; Third, Eric Cooper; Left, Wally Bell; Right, Gary Darling. T--3:05. A--49,397.