After two years of first-round futility, the Angels will now get that chance, after the Yankees completed a first-round sweep of the Minnesota Twins. And after the way they swept the Red Sox in the American League Division Series, the Angels appear as formidable as any team they have had since 2002, when they won the World Series.
At the very least, their 7-6, series-clinching win over Boston Sunday made one thing resoundingly clear: Against the Angels, no lead is safe.
The Red Sox had a three-run lead going into the eighth inning. They had a two-run lead going into the ninth with closer Jonathan Papelbon on the mound. They had the Angels down to their last out, down to their last strike. The crowd of 38,704 was on its feet, ready to celebrate and look forward to Game 4.
None of it mattered.
Bobby Abreu’s double off the green monster drove in a run and kept the inning alive. And after the Red Sox intentionally walked Hunter, Vladimir Guerrero made them pay with a single to shallow center field that drove in two runs to give Los Angeles the lead.
The ballpark was silent. The Red Sox were stunned. They went down in order in the bottom of the ninth against Angels closer Brian Fuentes, bowing out in the first round for the first time since 2005. And the Angels moved on to the ALCS for the first time since that same year, after losing to the Red Sox in the first round in 2007 and 2008
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