Despite dawdling on the base paths, [Manny Ramirez] delivered a clutch RBI on a 385-foot single. [Josh Beckett]'s shouting match with [Kenny Lofton] ended in a draw, but he won his third game of the post-season in a dominating performance.

No Sox starter had survived the fifth inning during three straight Boston losses, but Beckett worked eight, allowing five hits and striking out 11. The 20-game winner firmly guarded a 2-1 lead before the Red Sox broke the game open in the seventh and eighth innings. The loser was Indians ace C.C. Sabathia, who pitched better than he had in Game 1, but not well enough to keep his team from making a return trip to Fenway Park. Sabathia allowed four runs and 10 hits in six innings.