ALCS Game Six: Staring Into The Abyss

After some technical difficulties, TBS has restored their feed from Tampa, and the American League Championship Series, Game Six, is on the air.

BJ Upton opened the scoring with a solo home run, and Kevin Youkilis answered with a solo shot of his own along with an RBI groundout to give Boston a 2-1 lead. However, Tampa's James Shields just escaped a bases loaded jam in the third, getting Mark Kotsay to fly out to center to end the threat.

So we enter the bottom of the third, with Boston leading 2-1. Josh Beckett, or someone wearing #19 who looks like Josh Beckett, is on for us. Beckett has had terrible trouble (for him-he has become merely mortal) most of the year, struggling with velocity and location. He seems to be dropping strikes in with ease right now, though.

After a hit by pitch on Jason Bartlett (which he could, IMHO, have avoided), Beckett goes 3-0 on Iwamura, then gets him to pop up. Upton now. Upton is a monster, and with one more home run, he ties the record for homers in a single postseason. Note well that postseasons are much longer now-if Mickey Mantle had three rounds of postseason to go through, he might have hit 15 in a few years.

Beckett gets Upton on a gentle bouncer to the mound, and he's out of the third. Phew.

6 innings to go!