The 2004

American League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ea ...

(ALDS), the opening round of the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 5, and ended on Saturday, October 9, with the champions of the three AL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. They were: *(1)

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

(Eastern Division champion, 101–61) vs. (3)

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

(Central Division champion, 92–70): Yankees win series, 3–1. *(2)

Anaheim Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

(Western Division champion, 92–70) vs. (4)

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

(Wild Card, 98–64): Red Sox win series, 3–0. The higher seed (in parentheses) had the home field advantage. The Angels received home field advantage rather than the Twins due to their winning the season series 6–4 against Minnesota. Although the team with the best record was normally intended to play the wild card team, the Yankees played the Twins, rather than the wild card Red Sox, because the Yankees and Red Sox are in the same division. The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox went on to meet in the AL Championship Series (ALCS). The Red Sox became the American League champion, and defeated the National League champion

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

in the

2004 World Series The 2004 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2004 season. The 100th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the National Leag ...

for their first World Championship since

1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...

Matchups

New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins

Anaheim Angels vs. Boston Red Sox

New York vs. Minnesota

Game 1

Yankee Stadium (I) in

Bronx, New York The Bronx () is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state, state of New York (state), New York. It is south of Westchester County, New York, Westchester County; north and east of the ...

Pitching dominated in Game 1 as

Mike Mussina Michael Cole Mussina (born December 8, 1968), nicknamed "Moose", is an American former baseball starting pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1991–2000) and the New York Yankees (2001–2008). ...

faced

Johan Santana Johan Alexander Santana Araque (; born March 13, 1979) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball starting pitcher. Santana pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins from 2000 to 2007 and for the New York Mets from 200 ...

. The Twins got on the board first when Shannon Stewart singled home

Michael Cuddyer Michael Brent Cuddyer (; born March 27, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies, and New York Mets. He batted and threw right-han ...

, who singled to leadoff and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Then in the sixth,

Jacque Jones Jacque Dewayne Jones (born April 25, 1975) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder for the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers and Florida Marlins. He also coached for the Washington Nationals. Early life He graduated from San Die ...

hit a solo home run to make it 2–0. The Yankees got nine hits and numerous walks, but never capitalized on Santana,

Juan Rincón Juan Manuel Rincón (born January 23, 1979) is a Venezuelan professional baseball coach and former relief pitcher. Rincón bats and throws right-handed. He throws a low 90s fastball and a mid to low 80s slider. In his career, Rincón posted a .208 ...

, or closer

Joe Nathan Joseph Michael Nathan (born November 22, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, and Chicago Cu ...

, hitting into five double plays (including a strikeout-caught stealing play in the second and fly ball-out at home play in the third). , this is the last postseason game won by the Twins.

Game 2

Yankee Stadium (I) in

Brad Radke Brad William Radke (born October 27, 1972) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who played his entire 12 season career with the Minnesota Twins. Radke won 148 career games and was one of the most consistent pitchers in ...

of the Twins faced

Jon Lieber Jonathan Ray Lieber (born April 2, 1970) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He stands tall and weighs . He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1994–1998), Chicago Cubs (1999–2002 and 2008), Ne ...

of the Yankees in Game 2. In the top of the first,

Justin Morneau Justin Ernest George Morneau (born May 15, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, and Chicago White Sox. At and ...

doubled in Torii Hunter to give the Twins a 1–0 lead. In the bottom of the first,

Derek Jeter Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees ...

's leadoff home run tied the score. A single by

with two on and sacrifice fly by

Henry Blanco Henry Ramón Blanco (born August 29, 1971) is a Venezuelan professional baseball coach and former player. He is currently the catching and strategy coach for the Washington Nationals. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1997 to ...

made it 3–1 Twins, but

Gary Sheffield Gary Antonian Sheffield (born November 18, 1968) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball for eight teams from 1988 to 2009. He is a sports agent. For most of his career, Sheffield played right ...

tied the game with a two-run homer in the bottom of the third.

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the ...

gave the Yankees the lead in the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run. He added in another run in the seventh by singling home

Miguel Cairo Miguel Jesús Cairo i'-row(born May 4, 1974), is a Venezuelan former professional baseball infielder and most recently the bench coach for the Chicago White Sox, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine different clubs in a 17-year car ...

, who drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, to make it 5–3 Yankees.

reached first on a strike three wild pitch from

Tom Gordon Thomas Flynn Gordon (born November 18, 1967), nicknamed "Flash," is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher and current radio color commentator for the Boston Red Sox. Gordon played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Ka ...

, then Torii Hunter singled to put runners on first and second in the eighth.

Mariano Rivera Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and "Sandman", he spent most ...

came in but, a single by Morneau and a ground-rule double by

Corey Koskie Cordel Leonard "Corey" Koskie (born June 28, 1973) is a Canadian former professional baseball third baseman, who played in Major League Baseball for the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, and Milwaukee Brewers. On February 4, 2015, Koskie was ele ...

scored a run each, tying the game, but with the go-ahead run at third, Rivera retired

Jason Kubel Jason James Kubel (born May 25, 1982) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Cleveland Indians. A Belle Fourche, South Dakota native, Kube ...

and

Cristian Guzmán Cristian Antonio Guzmán (born March 21, 1978) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals, and Texas Rangers. Professional career Minnesota Twins ...

to end the inning. The game went into extra innings and in the top of the 12th,

Torii Hunter Torii Kedar Hunter (; born July 18, 1975) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and Detroit Tigers from 1997 ...

hit the go-ahead solo home run off of

Tanyon Sturtze Tanyon James Sturtze (born October 12, 1970) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Early life and education He attended Saint Peter-Marian High School then Quinsigamond Community College and was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 1 ...

. The Twins were on the verge of putting the Yankees down two games to none, heading home, but Twins manager

Ron Gardenhire Ronald Clyde Gardenhire (born October 24, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played as a shortstop for the New York Mets from 1981 through 1985. After another year playing in the minor leagues, he se ...

left closer Joe Nathan in for a third inning of work, despite having two solid relievers still yet to be used in the game. Nathan got the first out, but then walked Cairo and Jeter on four pitches each, after which Gardenhire still chose to leave Nathan in despite his clearly having nothing left and Alex Rodriguez coming up. Rodriguez promptly hit a ground-rule double that tied the game. Then, after Sheffield was intentionally walked,

Hideki Matsui , nicknamed "Godzilla", is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played baseball in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Matsui pl ...

hit the game-winning

sacrifice fly In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

that scored Jeter off of J.C. Romero.

Paul Quantrill Paul John Quantrill (born November 3, 1968) is a Canadian former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 14 seasons, from 1992 to 2005; his longest tenure was six seasons with the Toronto B ...

earned a win by retiring the last hitter of the top of the 11th as the Yankees tied the series heading to Minnesota.

Game 3

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly called the Metrodome) was a domed sports stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League ...

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Yankees starter

Kevin Brown Kevin Brown may refer to: Entertainment * Kevin Brown (blues musician) (born 1950), English blues guitarist * Kevin Brown (author) (born 1960), American journalist and translator * Kevin Brown (poet) (born 1970), American poet and teacher * Kevin ...

faced Twins hurler Carlos Silva in the crucial Game 3. The Twins grabbed the lead in the bottom of the first when

hit his second home run of the series, but with two outs in the second, five straight singles gave the Yankees a 3–1 lead. Then, as the night wore on, the Yanks blew the game open in the sixth.

Bernie Williams Bernabé Williams Figueroa Jr. (born September 13, 1968) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player and a musician. He played his entire 16-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees from 1991 through 2006. ...

hit a two-run homer after Matsui singled to lead off the inning. After a single, walk, sacrifice bunt and strikeout from J.C. Romero,

added a two-run single off of

Jesse Crain Jesse Alan Crain (born July 5, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox. High school and college Crain was born in Toronto, Ontario and at ...

to make it 7–1 Yankees. Brown hurled six innings, while

's home run in the seventh inning to make it 8–1 Yankees. The Twins, however, did not go quietly. Two consecutive hit-by-pitches to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning by

Félix Heredia Félix Heredia Pérez (born June 18, 1975) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. On October 18, 2005, he became the 11th MLB player to be suspended for testing positive for steroids. He is also known as "El Gato Flaco" (Skinny Cat in ...

was followed by two singles off of

, the second of which by

scored a run.

relieved Sturtze and allowed a groundout by

Jose Offerman Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...

and sacrifice fly by Shannon Stewart before Jones grounded out to end the game as the Yankees' 8–4 win gave them a 2–1 series lead.

Game 4

Javier Vázquez of the Yankees went against

of the Twins, who were on the board first with a sacrifice fly by

in the first after back-to-back singles. But the Yankees tied it in the third when

hit a leadoff single, moved to second on a groundout, and scored on an RBI single by

. A walk and double in the fourth was followed by

's sacrifice fly that put the Twins back in front 2–1.

led the bottom of the fifth off with a home run to make it 3–1 Twins. Two two-out singles and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases before a two-run double by

Lew Ford Jon Lewis Ford (born August 12, 1976) is an American professional baseball outfielder and hitting coach for the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins and ...

extended the Twins' lead to 5–1. However, the Twins squandered the lead in the top of the eighth with Juan Rincón pitching in relief. Bernie Williams would single home Gary Sheffield after a single and wild pitch. With Matsui and Williams on base and one out,

Rubén Sierra Rubén Angel Sierra García (born October 6, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Sierra goes by the nicknames ''El Caballo'' and ''El Indio''. Over 20 seasons, Sierra played for the Texas Rangers (1986–92, 2000–01, 2003), O ...

hit the game-tying three-run home run.

would come on in relief and get the next two outs. The game went into extra innings and Alex Rodriguez doubled, stole third, and scored on

Kyle Lohse Kyle Matthew Lohse (; born October 4, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers ...

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third stri ...

in the top of the 11th to put the Yankees up 6–5.

got the win with two shutout innings as he retired the Twins 1–2–3 to end the series in the bottom of the 11th.

Composite box

2004 ALDS (3–1):

over

Anaheim vs. Boston

Game 1

Angel Stadium of Anaheim Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a baseball stadium located in Anaheim, California. Since its opening in 1966, it has served as the home ballpark of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), and was also the home stadium to the Los An ...

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

Game 1 pitched

Curt Schilling Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who is a commentator for conservative media outlet BlazeTV. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a World Series appearance ...

against

Jarrod Washburn Jarrod Michael Washburn (born August 13, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Seattle Mariners, and Detroit Tigers over the course of a 12–year Major League Baseball (MLB) c ...

. The Red Sox struck first when

David Ortiz David Américo Ortiz Arias (born November 18, 1975), nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican-American former designated hitter (DH) and first baseman in Major League Baseball who played in the American League (AL) from 1997 to 2016, primarily wit ...

singled home

Manny Ramírez Manuel Arístides Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30, 1972) is a Dominican Americans (Dominican Republic), Dominican-American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for parts of 19 seasons. He played with ...

, who doubled with two outs. In the fourth, the Red Sox blew the game open. After Ortiz walked to open the inning,

Kevin Millar Kevin Charles Millar (; born September 24, 1971) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) and is a current analyst for MLB Network. He played in MLB for the Florida Marli ...

homered to make it 3–0. Then the Red Sox loaded the bases with one out.

Johnny Damon Johnny David Damon (born November 5, 1973) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1995 to 2012. During his MLB career, Damon played for the Kansas City Royals (1995–2000), Oakland ...

would reach on an error by Chone Figgins that scored two unearned runs to make it 5–0.

Scot Shields Robert Scot Shields (born July 22, 1975) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played his entire baseball career with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was the last member of the Anaheim ...

relieved Washburn and after

Mark Bellhorn Mark Christian Bellhorn (born August 23, 1974) is an American former professional baseball infielder. In his ten-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Bellhorn was best known for being the starting second baseman for the Boston Red Sox during t ...

struck out, Manny Ramírez hit a three-run home run to make it 8–0 Red Sox.

Troy Glaus Troy Edward Glaus (; born August 3, 1976) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and third baseman. Glaus played in Major League Baseball with the Anaheim Angels (–), Arizona Diamondbacks (), Toronto Blue Jays (–), St. Lou ...

' home run in the bottom of the inning put the Angels on the board. In the seventh,

Darin Erstad Darin Charles Erstad (; born June 4, 1974) is an American former professional baseball player and the former head coach of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team. Erstad spent most of his playing career with the Los Angeles Angels o ...

homered off of Schilling with one out.

Garret Anderson Garret Joseph Anderson (born June 30, 1972) is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the California / Anaheim Angels / Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Atlanta Braves, and Los Angeles D ...

reached on Schilling's throwing error before scoring on Glaus's double, but

Alan Embree Alan Duane Embree (born January 23, 1970) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Embree played for the Cleveland Indians (1992–1996), Atlanta Braves (1997–1998), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998), San Francisco Giants (1999–2001), Chic ...

and

Mike Timlin Michael August Timlin (; born March 10, 1966) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. Timlin played on four World Series championship teams in an 18-year career; the 1992 Toronto Blue Jays, 1993 Toronto Blue Jays, 2004 Bos ...

held them scoreless for the rest of the game while the Red Sox added run in the eighth on

Doug Mientkiewicz Douglas Andrew Mientkiewicz ( ; born June 19, 1974) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1998 to 2009, most prominently as a member of the Minnesota Twins wher ...

's RBI single with two on off of Ramon Ortiz.

Game 2

Pedro Martínez Pedro Jaime Martínez (born October 25, 1971) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , for five teams—most notably the Boston Red Sox from to . At the time o ...

of the Red Sox faced

Bartolo Colón Bartolo Colón (born May 24, 1973), nicknamed "Big Sexy," is a Dominican-American professional baseball pitcher. He has played for 11 different Major League Baseball (MLB) teams: the Cleveland Indians (1997–2002), Montreal Expos (2002), Chicago ...

of the Angels. A

bases-loaded This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. ...

walk to

Manny Ramirez Manuel Arístides Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30, 1972) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for parts of 19 seasons. He played with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Lo ...

for the Red Sox in the second put them ahead 1–0. However, the Angels would tie it in the bottom half with an RBI single by

Dallas McPherson Dallas Lyle McPherson (born July 23, 1980) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and current minor league coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Anaheim Angels / Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Florida Marlins, ...

after a leadoff walk and single. The Angels would take their only lead in the series when

Vladimir Guerrero Vladimir Alvino Guerrero Sr. (born February 9, 1975), nicknamed "Vlad the Impaler", is a Dominican former professional baseball player who spent 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right fielder and designated hitter. He played for ...

, the eventual MVP, singled home Jose Molina and

David Eckstein David Mark Eckstein (; born January 20, 1975) is an American former professional baseball player. He was an infielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for ten seasons. He played college baseball for the University of Florida and played professiona ...

with the bases loaded. The Red Sox immediately responded when

Jason Varitek Jason Andrew Varitek (; born April 11, 1972), nicknamed Tek, is an American professional baseball coach and former catcher. He is currently the game planning coordinator, a uniformed coaching position, for the Boston Red Sox. After being traded a ...

hit a two-out, two-run homer to tie the game in the sixth. The Sox would take the lead on a sacrifice fly by Manny Ramírez in the seventh off of Francisco Rodriguez, then padded their lead in the ninth off of

Brendan Donnelly Brendan Kevin Donnelly (born July 4, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. A right-hander, Donnelly pitched for twenty-one teams (two of them independents), twelve organizations, two independent leagues, eleven organized minor ...

. Ramirez doubled with one out and after an intentional walk, scored on

Trot Nixon The trot is a ten-beat diagonal horse gait where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time with a moment of suspension between each beat. It has a wide variation in possible speeds, but averages about . A very slow trot is somet ...

's single. After a two-out intentional walk loaded the bases,

Orlando Cabrera Orlando Luis Cabrera Ramírez, nicknamed "O-Cab" and "The OC", (born November 2, 1974) is a Colombian-American former baseball infielder. He won a World Series championship in 2004 with the Boston Red Sox. He also played for the Montreal Expos ...

cleared them with a double.

Keith Foulke Keith Charles Foulke ( ; born October 19, 1972) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. A graduate of Hargrave High School in Huffman, Texas, Foulke attended Galveston College and Lewis–Clark State College. Between 1997 and 2008, he p ...

retired the Angels in order in the bottom of the inning as the Red Sox's 8–3 win gave them a 2–0 series lead.

Game 3

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Base ...

in Boston, Massachusetts

Kelvim Escobar Kelvim José Escobar Bolívar (born April 11, 1976) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Toronto Blue Jays (1997–2003) and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2004–2007, 2009). He won 101 games, but his career ...

of the Angels and

Bronson Arroyo Bronson Anthony Arroyo (born February 24, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and musician. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates between 2000 and 2002, the Boston Red Sox from 2003 to 2005, th ...

of the Red Sox faced off in the clincher. The Red Sox once again struck first with runners on second and third when

's single and

's groundout made it 2–0 in the third. The Angels cut the lead in half when

hit a home run in the fourth. In the bottom of the inning, a single, error and walk loaded the bases before

's sacrifice fly made it 3–1 Red Sox.

relieved Escobar and allowed an RBI double to

. After an intentional walk loaded the bases, another Angel error allowed

to score to make it 5–1 Red Sox. Ramirez's RBI single with two on next inning increased the lead to 6–1. It appeared as if the Angels were down and out, but they loaded the bases in the top of the seventh thanks to two walks and a single. After Chone Figgins struck out,

walked to force in a run that made it 6–2.

then threw to Vladimir Guerrero, who hit a grand slam to right that evened the score at 6–6 and stunned the Fenway crowd. The game went to extra innings and, in the bottom of the tenth, Johnny Damon led off with a single. After

Pokey Reese Calvin "Pokey" Reese, Jr. (born June 10, 1973) is an American former Major League Baseball infielder. Reese played with the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Boston Red Sox. With the Red Sox, he won the 2004 World Series over the St. Louis ...

forced him and Ramirez struck out,

relieved Francisco Rodríguez and

hit the series-winning two-run home run over the

Green Monster The Green Monster is a popular nickname for the left field wall at Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. The wall is from home plate and is a popular target for right-handed hitters. Overview The wall was part ...

to send the Red Sox to the ALCS for the second straight year.

Composite box

2004 ALDS (3–0):

over

Notes

External links

NYY vs. MIN at Baseball-ReferenceBOS vs. ANA at Baseball-Reference
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