The Curse is in the hearse: Boston rolling toward title

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The Boston Red Sox are making this look too easy.
Because at this rate, only a curse can stop them. So far, the St. Louis Cardinals can't.
With their baseball stars and lucky stars aligned, the Red Sox moved within one victory of their first World Series championship since 1918, cruising past the Cardinals 4-1 Tuesday night.
No one knows better than Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez and the wild-card Red Sox that a 3-0 lead can be overcome; they just became the first team to do it in the postseason, against the New York Yankees.
But no one knows better than the Red Sox how elusive that last win can be; four times since that last title they've been one victory away, and four times they've lost.
"We're not going to relax that much," Martinez said. "I don't think our team's going to relax as much as the Yankees were."
Nice defense
Martinez made his long-awaited Series debut a special one, bailed out when Ramirez and David Ortiz did as much damage with their arms as their bats.
Backed by the surprising show of defense, the Red Sox got in position to sweep the club that led the majors in wins this year. And to think that last week, they were three outs from getting swept in the AL championship series.
"It's something you've got to notice. It's possible," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "Hard not to get discouraged. They didn't.
"I think the one thing I'm absolutely confident about is that we've come too far to give an effort that will embarrass anybody tomorrow."
Derek Lowe will try to finish it off for Boston on Wednesday night, starting against Jason Marquis in Game 4.
"We don't want people to think this Series is over," Lowe said.
Been close before
Still, Red Sox fans gathered around the Boston dugout and chanted "One more win! One more win!" after the final out. Meanwhile, this sign curiously was posted on a side scoreboard at Busch Stadium: "Thanks for a great 2004 season."
Then again, the Red Sox have seen something similar before.
When they were within one strike of the 1986 title in Game 6, a message popped onto the Shea Stadium scoreboard congratulating them on winning the World Series. A couple of days later, the New York Mets beat them in Game 7.
Pitching a day after his 33rd birthday, Martinez threw seven innings of shutout ball, holding the limp Cardinals to three hits and retiring his last 14 batters. He did it without the blazing fastball that made him a three-time Cy Young Award winner, instead mixing his deliveries.
"He has a history of being pretty good," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said.
Larry Walker homered in the ninth off Boston closer Keith Foulke. By then, it was too late as St. Louis' big hitters fell short.
Scott Rolen again went hitless, leaving him at 0-for-11. Albert Pujols, Rolen and Jim Edmonds, the 3-4-5 guys for the Cardinals, are 5-for-33 with one RBI.
Cruising
Ramirez put Boston ahead with a first-inning homer and Martinez held it, helped by superb defense and shaky baserunning. Added up, the Red Sox set a team record with their seventh straight postseason win, bettering the streak of six capped off by Babe Ruth's win in the 1916 Series.
That Martinez won was hardly amazing. That Boston's defense contributed was downright shocking.
The Red Sox made eight errors and still won the first two games. This time, they were flawless in the field -- and maybe even better than that.
Ramirez, coming off two gaffes in Game 1, threw out Walker at the plate from left field to end the first inning. The lumbering Ortiz, in the lineup because Boston did not have the DH slot, alertly caught losing pitcher Jeff Suppan later.
"I was really happy to see Manny, not even thinking about what happened at Fenway," Martinez said.
Missed opportunity
The Cardinals loaded the bases with one out in the first and crowd sensed a big hit coming.
Edmonds lofted a fly ball to shallow left and Walker decided to make a run for it, but Ramirez was equal to the challenge and made an accurate throw home. Catcher Jason Varitek decoyed, standing as if there was no play before suddenly catching the ball and slapping on the tag.
Ahead 1-0, Boston did it again with defense in the third.
Suppan started it with a swinging-bunt single and Edgar Renteria hit a double that sent Trot Nixon sliding feet first into a warning track puddle, a pratfall right out of a Wet & amp;Wild Ride & amp;Slide.
The crowd came to its feet, but Walker rapped a weak grounder to second baseman Mark Bellhorn, which should have easily been enough to advance the runners and score the tying run.
BOSTONST. LOUIS
abrhbiabrhbi
Damon cf5110Renteria ss4010
OCabrera ss4120LWalker rf3111
MRamirez lf4122Pujols 1b4010
DOrtiz 1b4010Rolen 3b3000
Mientkiewicz 1b0000Edmonds cf3000
Varitek c3000RSanders lf3000
Mueller 3b4121Womack 2b3000
Nixon rf3011Matheny c2000
Kapler rf1000Cedeno ph1000
Bellhorn 2b3000Tavarez p0000
Reese 2b0000Suppan p1010
PMartinez p2000Al Reyes p0000
Millar ph1000MAnderson ph1000
Timlin p0000Calero p0000
Foulke p0000King p0000
Mabry ph1000
YMolina c0000
Totals34494Totals29141
Boston100120000--4
St. Louis000000001--1
DP--Boston 2, St. Louis 2. LOB--Boston 8, St. Louis 3. 2B--Damon (2), OCabrera (1), Mueller (2), Renteria (2). HR--MRamirez (1), LWalker (2).
IPHRERBBSO
Boston
PMartinez W,1-0730026
Timlin100000
Foulke111102
St. Louis
Suppan L,0-14 2-384414
Al Reyes1-300000
Calero110020
King200010
Tavarez100001
Calero pitched to 2 batters in the 7th. HBP--by Suppan (Bellhorn). Umpires--Home, Brian Gorman; First, Chuck Meriwether; Second, Gerry Davis; Third, Charlie Reliford; Left, Ed Montague; Right, Dale Scott. T--2:58. A--52,015.