| October 19, 2008 Red Sox force Game 7 with 4-2 win
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(NECN) - It's a seven game format, and the ALCS will go the distance.
Coming off an 8-7 come-from-behind win in Game 6, the Boston Red Sox continued their roll, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2.
Almost the entire first inning of the game was seen only by those in attendance, because of technical difficulties had by TBS.
But when that feed came across the air, baseball fans the country over saw the score at 1-0 in favor of the Rays, thanks to a BJ Upton solo home run.
The Sox answered immediately, as Kevin Youkilis matched Upton's effort with a solo home run of his own. That tied the game at one run apiece.
Josh Beckett then settled down for the Sox, working through five innings, striking out three and allowing just one more run -- a Jason Bartlett homer.
Bartlett's shot tied the game at 2 apiece, after Youkilis drove in a run in the third inning on a groundout.
When Beckett left after five, that spelled the end of the night for the Tampa bats.
Solid relief outings from Hideki Okajima (two innings), Justin Masterson (one inning) and closer Jonathan Papelbon (one inning) prevented any comeback attempt the Rays might have been able to muster.
Jason Varitek's 5th inning solo home run proved to be the game winning run. It was Varitek's first hit of the series -- he had been 0-for-13.
Another Boston hitter who had struggled in the series added an insurance run for the Sox. David Ortiz drove home Coco Crisp in
