Pedroia Powers Sox Into Series

The smallest guy on the field struck the biggest blows last night as the Red Sox turned a tense ALCS Game 7 into a late-inning laugher. With the Sox leading the Indians 3-2, rookie second baseman Dustin Pedroia hit a 2-run HR in the 7th inning, then a bases-loaded double in the 8th, and Boston cruised into the World Series with an 11-2 win, the team's third straight victory after trailing the series 3-1.

“Once it went out I had so much adrenaline going, I don’t even remember running around the bases,” Pedroia told the Boston Herald. “It was the biggest at-bat of my life.” Starter Daisuke Matsuzaka earned the win, while Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon each pitched two scoreless innings in relief. The Series with the Colorado Rockies begins Wednesday in Boston. For Cleveland it's wait 'til next year in the quest for the team's first world title since 1948. (More Boston Red Sox stories.)