Red Sox foiled again

The Yankees' Aaron Boone hit a game-winning home runin the 11th inning.
NEW YORK (AP) -- As soon as the ball left Aaron Boone's bat, the end of this story was clear.
It was the same as all the others.
The World Series has pinstripes
And doom descended on Boston.
"Like Derek [Jeter] told me, 'The ghosts will show up eventually,' " Boone said.
Did they ever.
Boone set off bedlam in the Bronx with a leadoff home run in the 11th inning. The drive into the left-field seats gave the New York Yankees a 6-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series Thursday night, ending perhaps the best in a century of annual battles between these old rivals.
"Wow. I can't even talk," Boone said. "It's unbelievable. Unbelievable. This is awesome."
Against the odds
The Yankees overcame an awful start by Roger Clemens and deficits of 4-0 and 5-2 to win their 39th AL pennant and their fifth in six seasons. And like many New Yorkers, they'll be heading for Florida when the weather gets cold -- the World Series opens at Yankee Stadium on Saturday night and, after two games this weekend, the Marlins and Yankees will go to Miami.
It will be hard for the 100th anniversary Series to top this ending -- the first Game 7 in major league history won by an extra-inning home run.
"It couldn't be more satisfying," New York manager Joe Torre said. "This has to be the sweetest taste of all for me."
The Red Sox were five outs from returning to the World Series for the first time in 17 years, from having a chance to win the title that has eluded them since 1918.
Then Pedro Martinez let the Yankees tie the score with a three-run eighth, when Jeter doubled to start the rally and Jorge Posada blooped a tying two-run double.
Boston's bullpen held tough, matching Mariano Rivera, who threw three scoreless innings for New York.
But then Boone, who entered as a pinch runner in the eighth inning, connected on the first pitch of the 11th off Tim Wakefield, the knuckleballer who had baffled the Yankees in winning Games 1 and 4.
As the ball dropped into the lower deck in left, up came all those painful memories that have haunted so many Red Sox fans -- thoughts of Bucky Dent, Bill Buckner and decades of New York domination.
"The fans in Boston have to be sad, like we are, heartbroken, like we are. But they have to be proud of us," said Martinez, who also allowed a pair of solo homers to Jason Giambi that began the comeback.
"I feel like I let everybody down," Wakefield said.
Long ball
Boone's homer was the fifth in big league history to end a postseason series, the first for the Yankees since Chris Chambliss against Kansas City in the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 1976 ALCS.
The Yankees waited for Boone at home plate, hopping with excitement, and mobbed him when he arrived.
"I see those guys coming back, coming back, coming back, and I think 'I've got to hold this,' " said Rivera, who threw 48 pitches in his first three-inning appearance since Sept. 6, 1996.
Trot Nixon's two-run homer in a three-run second inning and Kevin Millar's solo shot in the fourth chased Clemens. It looked as if this would be the final start of his storied 20-year career.
"I wasn't thinking that," Clemens said. "I knew we had a lot of outs left."
A parade of New York relievers -- including Mike Mussina in the first relief appearance of his major league career after 400 starts -- held Boston scoreless until David Ortiz made it 5-2 with a homer in the eighth on David Wells' first pitch of the game.
Rally time
After Jeter doubled in the eighth he scored on a single by Bernie Williams.
Boston manager Grady Little went to the mound and talked to Martinez, who had thrown 115 pitches.
"He asked me if I had enough ... in my tank to get him out, and I said 'Yes.' I would never say no," Martinez said. "There's no reason to blame Grady. Grady doesn't play the game, I do. If you want to judge me or criticize me or curse me or whatever, I will swallow that, because I am responsible."
Hideki Matsui followed with a double down the right-field line -- on an 0-2 pitch -- that put runners on second and third. And on Martinez's 123rd pitch, Posada looped a hit to center that scored both runners, with Matsui slapping the plate as he slid in and his teammates coming out of the dugout.
Mike Timlin escaped a bases-loaded jam, but that just delayed the inevitable.
BOSTONNEW YORK
abrhbiabrhbi
Damon cf5000ASrano 2b5000
TWalkr 2b5010NJhnsn 1b4000
Grcprr ss5010Jeter ss5110
MRmrz lf5010BWllms cf5121
DOrtiz dh5121Matsui lf5120
Kapler dh0000Posada c5012
Millar 1b5221JaGbi dh5222
Nixon rf4112EWilsn 3b3010
Mueller 3b5010Sierra ph0000
Varitek c4120ABoone 3b1111
DJcksn pr0000KGarca rf3010
Mrbelli c1000
Totals445114Totals416116
Boston03010001000--5
New York00001013001--6
No outs when winning run scored.
E--EWilson (1). DP--New York 1. LOB--Boston 7, New York 8. 2B--DOrtiz (1), Varitek (2), Jeter (2), Matsui 2 (3), Posada (4). HR--DOrtiz (2), Millar (1), Nixon (3), JaGiambi 2 (3), ABoone (1).
IPHRERBBSO
Boston
PMartinez7 1-3105518
Embree1-300000
Timlin1 1-300021
Wakefield L,2-1111100
New York
Clemens364311
Mussina320003
Heredia2-300001
Nelson2-300001
DWells2-311100
MRivera W,1-0320003
Wakefield pitched to 1 batter in the 11th, Clemens pitched to 3 batters in the 4th. Umpires--Home, Tim McClelland; First, Terry Craft; Second, Alfonso Marquez; Third, Derryl Cousins; Left, Joe West; Right, Angel Hernandez. T--3:56. A--56,279.