The 2004 American League Championship Series ( ALCS ) was Major League Baseball (MLB) playoff series to decide the champion of the American League (AL) for the 2004 season. It was played between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. The Red Sox won the series four games to three, having been down three games to none in the best-of-seven series. It was played at Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium, between October 12 and October 20, 2004.
The Red Sox earned their place in the playoffs by winning the American League wild card. The Yankees made it by winning the American League East with the best record in the American League. In the American League Division Series, the Red Sox defeated the Anaheim Angels, while the Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins.
In Game 1, Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina pitched a perfect game through six innings, while the Red Sox recovered from an eight-run deficit to close within one run before the Yankees eventually won. A home run by John Olerud helped the Yankees win Game 2. The Yankees gathered 22 hits in Game 3 on their way to an easy win. The Yankees led Game 4 by one run in the ninth inning, however a steal of second base by Red Sox base runner Dave Roberts and a single by Bill Mueller off Yankees closer Mariano Rivera tied the game. A home run by David Ortiz then won it for the Red Sox in extra innings. Ortiz also won Game 5 with a single in the fourteenth inning. Curt Schilling pitched seven innings in Game 6 for the Red Sox, during which time his sock became soaked in blood. The Red Sox won Game 6 and then Game 7 to become the first team in MLB history to win a series after being down three games to none. David Ortiz was named the series Most Valuable Player.
Game summaries
Game 1
Tuesday, October 12, 2004 at Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, New York
WP : Mike Mussina (1–0) LP : Curt Schilling (0–1) SV : Mariano Rivera (1)
HRs : BOS – Jason Varitek (1) NYY – Kenny Lofton (1)Game 1 pitted the Red Sox's star pitcher Curt Schilling against Yankees ace Mike Mussina. Schilling entered the game with a 6–1 postseason career record, but the expected pitchers' duel quickly became a one-sided exhibition. Unbeknownst at the start of the game, Schilling had sustained a torn tendon sheath in his right ankle during his start in the American League Division Series against the Angels, and proved to be ineffective. Mussina, meanwhile, retired the first nineteen Red Sox batters. After scoring six runs off Schilling, the Yankees added two more off Boston knuckleballer Tim Wakefield in the sixth. A Hideki Matsui single made the score 8–0 and gave him an ALCS record-tying five RBIs in the game.
The Red Sox ended Mussina's bid for a perfect game with a rally of five runs in the seventh and added two more in the eighth, closing the gap to 8–7. With two outs and the tying run on third base, however, the Yankees called upon closer Mariano Rivera, who induced a pop out by Kevin Millar. The Yankees scored two more runs in the bottom of the eighth on a double by Bernie Williams. The Sox hit two singles in the top of the ninth inning, but the game ended when Bill Mueller grounded into a double play.
Game 2
Wednesday, October 13, 2004 at Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, New York
WP : Jon Lieber (1–0) LP : Pedro Martínez (0–1) SV : Mariano Rivera (2)
HRs : NYY – John Olerud (1)Game 2 featured Pedro Martínez of the Red Sox facing Yankees pitcher Jon Lieber. Again, the Yankees struck first, as Gary Sheffield drove in Derek Jeter in the first inning. The 1–0 score held up for several innings, as Lieber and Martinez put together a classic pitchers' duel.
Martinez got himself in and out of trouble through several innings, but, shortly after making his 100th pitch of the night, walked Jorge Posada and allowed a John Olerud home run, giving New York a 3–0 lead.
Again, the Red Sox rallied, chasing Lieber with two hits in the eighth to close the gap, 3–1. With two outs and a runner on third, however, the Yankees again turned to Rivera, who struck out Johnny Damon to end the inning. Rivera shut down the Red Sox in the ninth by inducing a ground out by Mark Bellhorn, and, after giving up a double to Manny Ramírez, striking out David Ortiz and Millar, ending the game.
Game 3
Saturday, October 16, 2004 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts
WP : Javier Vázquez (1–0) LP : Ramiro Mendoza (0–1)
HRs : NYY – Hideki Matsui 2 (2), Alex Rodriguez (1), Gary Sheffield (1) BOS – Trot Nixon (1), Jason Varitek (2)With the series moving to Fenway Park, Game 3 was originally scheduled for October 15, but was postponed a day due to rain. The starting pitchers were Kevin Brown for the Yankees and Bronson Arroyo for the Red Sox.
As in the first two games, the Yankees began by scoring in the first. Derek Jeter walked and scored from first on a double by Alex Rodríguez. Two batters later, Hideki Matsui hit a home run to right field, giving the Yankees a 3–0 lead. The Red Sox answered in the second inning with a leadoff walk by Jason Varitek and a Trot Nixon home run to right field. A double by Bill Mueller, an infield hit by Johnny Damon (his first hit of the series), and a Derek Jeter error led to two more runs. The Red Sox led for the first time in the series, 4–3.
This lead was short-lived, as Alex Rodríguez led off the third inning with a home run over the Green Monster. Gary Sheffield then walked and Hideki Matsui doubled, prompting Bronson Arroyo to be replaced on the mound by Ramiro Mendoza, who immediately allowed a Bernie Williams RBI single and then balked, allowing Matsui to score from third, letting the Yankees lead 6–4. The Red Sox, however, responded by tying the game in the bottom of the inning, scoring two runs on an Orlando Cabrera double off Yankees reliever Javier Vazquez. After three innings, the game was tied at six.
In the fourth inning, the Yankees took the lead on a three-run home run to left by Gary Sheffield. After another double by Hideki Matsui, the Red Sox put in pitcher Tim Wakefield, who volunteered to forgo his scheduled Game 4 start in order to preserve Boston's battered bullpen. Wakefield got Bernie Williams to pop out and then intentionally walked Jorge Posada. Rubén Sierra then tripled to score Matsui and Posada, giving the Yankees an 11–6 lead.
From that point on the Yankees were in control, setting a team record for postseason runs scored. The two teams combined for 37 hits and 20 extra-base hits, both postseason records. At four hours and twenty minutes, the game was the longest nine-inning postseason game ever played. Hideki Matsui had five hits and five RBIs, tying LCS records. Along with Alex Rodríguez, he tied the postseason record for runs scored with five.
Game 4
Sunday, October 17, 2004 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts
WP : Curt Leskanic (1–0) LP : Paul Quantrill (0–1)
HRs : NYY – Alex Rodriguez (2) BOS – David Ortiz (1)Game 4 featured Yankees pitcher Orlando Hernández, the 1999 ALCS MVP and Boston's Derek Lowe. For the first time in the series, the Yankees did not score in the first inning. The Yankees, however, did score first when Alex Rodríguez hit a two-run home run over the Green Monster in the third. This hit resembled a home run he hit in Game 3, as it also came in the third inning and went out of the park onto Lansdowne Street. This would be followed by the ball being thrown back into the outfield by fans on the Street, Johnny Damon tossing the ball back over the fence, and the ball once again being tossed back before being pocketed by Umpire Joe West.
Hernández, who had not pitched in two weeks, struggled through the first four innings but did not allow any runs. In the fifth inning, he pitched himself into a jam, walking two of the first three batters. With two men on and two out, Orlando Cabrera singled to right field, scoring one run. Manny Ramírez walked to load the bases, and then David Ortiz hit a single to center field, scoring two and giving the Red Sox a 3–2 lead, only their second lead of the series.
The lead lasted less than an inning. Hideki Matsui hit a triple in the sixth, after which Mike Timlin relieved Lowe. Bernie Williams hit an infield single to score Matsui and tie the game. The Yankees added a second run on a tough, bouncing ground ball hit by Tony Clark, starting in place of the injured John Olerud, to take a 4–3 lead.
Massachusetts native Tanyon Sturtze pitched two scoreless innings in relief of Hernández. Mariano Rivera, the Yankees star closer, entered the game in the eighth for a two inning save attempt. In the ninth inning, Rivera allowed a lead-off walk to Kevin Millar, which would prove to be the turning point of the series. Dave Roberts was then chosen to pinch-run for Millar. With the Red Sox down to their final three outs, Rivera checked Roberts at first base several times before throwing a pitch to Bill Mueller.
According to Roberts, "The first , I felt I got the jit
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