Drew Devastates Angels With One Swing in the Ninth

Closer Rodriguez Surrenders Game-Winning Shot as Red Sox Take 2-0 Series Lead Back to Boston: Red Sox 7, Angels 5

ANAHEIM, Calif., Oct. 3 -- Before Game 2 of the American League Division Series, Mike Scioscia and Torii Hunter worked their pregame news conference like an old vaudeville act, playing off each other to hammer home their point: There is no mystical explanation for the Los Angeles Angels' 22-year playoff drought against the Boston Red Sox.

"It doesn't make sense to go back to 1986," Scioscia said. "A lot of guys were still in diapers then, and that was nothing to do with what's going on here."

"I was 11," Hunter interjected.

"You were still in diapers. You want to bring up a sore subject?" said Scioscia, zinging his star center fielder.

But after the Angels' devastating 7-5 loss to the Red Sox on Friday night, it was hard to ignore the surefire signs of a curse. How else to explain the painful manner in which the Angels approach the brink of ruining an otherwise spectacular season?

The Angels rallied from an early four-run deficit, tying the game in the eighth inning when Mark Teixiera lifted a sacrifice fly to score Chone Figgins, who led off with a triple, L.A.'s first extra base hit in the series after 19 singles. But Red Sox right fielder J.D. Drew smashed a two-run homer off Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez in the ninth to put Boston ahead for good.

With that, baseball's lone 100-win team must now beat postseason ace Josh Beckett at Fenway Park in Sunday's Game 3, just to avoid being swept from the playoffs by the Red Sox for the third time since 2004.

"We have a challenge," Scioscia said, after the Angels dropped their 11th consecutive postseason game to the Red Sox. "This thing isn't over ... We need to bring it right now."

Counting the first game of the series, Drew had just one hit in nine plate appearances since going on the disabled list on Aug. 18 with a herniated disk in his back. And by his own admission, had the injury occurred earlier in the season, he would have surely spent time accumulating at-bats on a minor league rehab stint.

"I thought at some point I was going to have to shut it down, and watch the team go through the playoffs," Drew said.

But facing the all-time single-season saves leader, Drew changed the complexion of the game. With the speedy Coco Crisp at second base -- as a pinch runner after David Ortiz led off the ninth with a double -- Drew was simply trying to square the bat. He had hoped to drive a ball into the gap, thus allowing the speedy Crisp to score.

Instead, Drew got a changeup to drive.