That's a Wrap: Red Sox Sweep Series

Boston 4 Colorado 3 - The Boston Red Sox completed their second World Series sweep in 4 years, topping the Colorado Rockies, 4 games to none, to capture the 2007 Championship. Boston, in their last trip to the World Series in 2004, bested the St. Louis Cardinals by the same margin. Outside of Boston, the remainder of the baseball universe hopes sweeping the fall classic doesn't become a habit. Sunday night's affair went along the same lines as the previous three games, with Colorado failing to generate any offense against Boston's starter, Jon Lester, who cruised through 5 2/3 innings without allowing a Colorado run. Lester (right) allowed three hits, walked three and struck out three in a commanding performance, similar to the other three Boston starters, Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling and Daisuke Matsuzaka, each of whom worked into at least the 6th inning and earned a win. By the time Lester left the game, the Red Sox had established a 2-0 lead, and expanded it to 3-0 on Mike Lowell's solo homer in the 7th. Lowell, who batted .375 over the course of the four games, was named MVP of the series. Colorado got one back in the bottom of the 7th on Brad Hawpe's solo shot to right, but Bobby Kielty homered in Boston's half of the 8th to make it 4-1.

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Mike Timlin got the last out in the seventh and the first out in the bottom of the 8th inning, but after Garrett Atkins tightened the score to 4-3 with a 2-run blast off Hideki Okajima, closer Jonathan Papelbon came on to get the final five outs and clinch the sweep and send the title back to Boston. Papelbon was magnificent in his closer role, earning saves in games 2, 3, and 4, while allowing no earned runs and only 2 hits and no walks, while fanning 3 in 4 1/3 innings overall. Though the Rockies didn't win a game, they came close in games 2 and 4, losing both of them by a single run, but Boston's starters were much better and their bullpen a lot more effective than Colorado's. In the hitting department it was no contest. Boston batted a cumulative 47-141 (.333) in the four games, while the Rockies managed only 29 hits in 133 at-bats for a disappointing .218 batting average. Colorado led the National League with a .280 team batting average during the regular season. Boston's starters were the story, however, allowing just 4 earned runs in 23 1/3 innings for a combined ERA of 1.55 in their four starts. Series MVP Lowell (right), was the ultimate hitting star in the middle of Boston's potent lineup going 6-for-16 with 3 doubles, a home run, 4 RBI and 6 runs scored. He was the only player from either squad to score at least one run in each game. Boston has now won 8 straight World Series games and finished 2007 by winning seven straight through the playoffs and series. Their post-season record for 2007 was 11-3, having swept the Angels in the ALDS and taking 4 of 7 from the Indians in the ALCS. Boston outscored Colorado 29-10. In the AL Championship Series they scored 51 runs to Cleveland's 32, and outscored the Angels 19-4 in the ALDS, for a cumulative post-season score of 94-46. Spring training begins in just over four months.

Hey, Rockies, It's OVER!

Boston 10 Colorado 5 - The Boston Red Sox took a commanding 3-0 lead in the World Series on Saturday - a lead that has never been overcome. Of the 22 teams that have established the same margin, 19 have won game 4. None have lost four straight. So it would appear, that after winning 21 of 22 games to get to the World Series, the Colorado Rockies have run into a buzzsaw of a team in Boston. The Red Sox have outscored Colorado 25-7 in the three games and unless their pitching and hitting goes completely into limbo, they are going to be the 2007 champs. In Saturday's game, the Sox got on the board early, with 6 runs in a fateful third inning, highlighted by Daisuke Matsuzaka's (right) two-run single. Matsuzaka also kept the Rockies at bay from the mound, hurling shutout ball over 5 innings, before walking Todd Helton and Garrett Atkins with one out in the 6th. Reliever Jose Lopez came in and immediately gave up run-scoring singles to Brad Hawpe and Yorvit Torreabla before getting out of the inning. Lopez allowed a pair of singles in the 7th and was replaced on the mound by Hideki Okajima, who was immediately blasted by Matt Holliday's three-run homer. All of a sudden it was 6-5, but that was as close as the Rockies would get. Boston put up 3 more in the 8th and another run in the 9th. Jonathan Papelbon came on with 2 outs in the 8th and put the Rockies to rest, but not before allowing a two-out triple by Hawpe.

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As exciting as the Rockies made it - for half an inning - this game was, like the others before it, all about Boston. Jacoby Ellsbury, who won't technically be a rookie until next season, made the most of his promotion to the leadoff spot in the lineup with 3 doubles and a single in 5 at-bats, scoring twice and driving in a pair. Boston's other rookie, Dustin Pedroia, was 3-5 with a double and two RBI. Game four is Sunday night, with first pitch scheduled for 8:29. After Saturday's world series record, 4 hour and 19 minute marathon, viewers and fans hope that starters Jon Lester (Boston) and Aaron Cook (Colorado) throw plenty of strikes.

WORLD SERIES: Boston Takes Game 2; Rockies on Life Support

Boston 2 Colorado 1 - In game one, it was Boston's booming bats that sent the Rockies back to their hotel rooms 13-1 losers. On Thursday, it was their pitching, specifically, starter Curt Schilling (right), middle reliever Hideki Okajima and closer Jonathan Papelbon. The Rockies got on the board in the top of the first, on a hit batsman (Wily Taveras), Matt Holliday's first of four hits, and a groundout by Todd Helton. That was it. Other than Holliday, the Rockies only got one more hit off Schilling, who worked 5 1/3 innings for the win on 4 hits, striking out four and walking two. Okajima came on and set down seven straight batters, turning the ball over to Papelbon with 2 out in the eighth. Lights out. Papelbon allowed just a scratch single by Holliday and struck out two of the other four batters he faced.

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Colorado has scored only 2 runs in 2 games and that's obviously not getting the job done. The team that won 21 of their last 22 games and seven straight in the playoffs has run into a powerhouse American League team that is making them look like Double-A rookies. The series shifts to Denver for Game 3 on Saturday night. Starters are Daisuke Matsuzaka for Boston and Josh Fogg for Colorado. It's a must win situation for the Rockies, as coming back from a 3-0 deficit against the Red Sox would be next to impossible. As it stands, the series may already be over. Boston looks very, very solid right now.

World Series Game 1: All Red Sox, All Night

Boston 13 Colorado 1 - Josh Beckett's fastball was splitting raindrops and Boston batters didn't miss a beat as the Red Sox roared out of the box in game one of the 2007 World Series. Forget about Colorado's 7-game post-season win streak. The number that really mattered was the 8 days off they had between the end of their 4-game sweep of Arizona in the NLCS and the opener of the World Series. The pitching was disturbingly flat, the fielding was atrocious, the team had no spark, and, despite Josh Beckett's good stuff, it would be easy to say that most of the Rockies had poor timing at the plate.

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Just ask Brad Hawpe, who struck out four times. He looked completely out of sync in the batter's box. Give credit to the Red Sox. They were ready, hungry and red-hot. The constant rain that fell from before the start of the game through the sixth inning didn't seem to matter to them as they banged out 16 hits off Rockies' starter Jeff Francis and reliever Franklin Morales. Those two got through only 4 2/3 innings, then Ryan Speier walked three straight batters without getting anyone out. Matt Herges finally came out of the bullpen to get Kevin Youkilis with the bases loaded to mercifully end the 5th inning. By then, it was over. The Sox had scored 13 runs to the Rockies 1. Jeremy Affeldt allowed one more hit in the 8th, but that was it. Just as the Red Sox seemed to let up, so did the rain. Maybe there's hope for the weather and for the Rockies in game two. Beckett won for the 4th time in 4 post-season starts, going seven full innings with one earned on 6 hits, a walk and 9 strikeouts. Right now, the guy is unbeatable. Every Red Sox starter had at least one hit, except Jacoby Ellsbury. David Ortiz went 3-5 with a pair of RBI. Manny Ramirez (right) was 3-4 with 3 RBI and 3 runs scored. The Sox tied a World Series record with 9 extra base hits, 8 of them doubles. Youkilis and Ortiz had two apiece, Ramirez had one. Dustin Pedroia had the only homer of the night, a solo shot on the second pitch from Francis in the first inning. It was the worst game one beating EVER. And by the way, could FOX cram any more commercial endorsements into the game. They even had a string of them between Ortiz and Ramirez' at-bats in the opening frame. Equally annoying is the gay-ish guy getting all excited about the series in the FOX promos. He is ANNOYING! Game two is Thursday night at Fenway Park with Curt Schilling on the hill for the Sox against rookie starter Ubaldo Jiminez. It's put up or shut up for the Rocks. Game time is around 8:20 pm ET.