Repeat after me: Sox comeback to win. Again

Sox 7, LA of A 6
WP: Timlin (2-1)
LP: Oliver (1-1)
SV: Papelbon (8)
HRs: BOS- Ellsbury 2 (3), Youk (2); LAA- Kotchman (5), Mathis (3)

SUMMARY:
Stop me if you've heard this one before: the Boston Red Sox came back from a substantial deficit midway through the game and put together a late-inning rally against the opponent's bullpen to pull out another come-from-behind victory.

What's that? Okay, I'll stop now.

Superstar(s): Pedroia & Ellsbury 7-10, 4R, 3BI, 3 2Bs, 2HRs
Ellsbury (3-5) started the scoring with a first inning home run, and Pedroia (4-5)ended it in the 8th when he doubled in Jacoby, who'd reached on a bunt single, from first base for the deciding run of the game.

In between Ellsbury slammed another homer that gave Boston a 6-5 lead, and Pedroia ripped two more doubles as the two combined to give Boston a potent dynamic duo at the top of the order.

The Biggest Loser: Jered Weaver 5IP, 10H, 5ER, 0BB, 4K, 2HR
He's beginning to resemble his big brother Jeff more and more every year, and not just in the looks department.

Staked to a 5-1 lead after four Weaver fell apart by the 5th, surrendering four runs and the lead and wasting an opportunity for his team to get off the schneid vs. Boston.

RECAP:
Three or four games ago I said I was running out of ways to describe these comeback wins. After this one tonight I might have to take a creative writing class just to keep up with these guys.

Trailing 5-1 after spot starter David Pauley couldn't seem to retire the Angels in the first four innings, Boston mounted a methodical and businesslike comeback, scoring once in the fourth and three times in the fifth to tie the game before they kicked into late game heroics overdrive a few innings later.

It says something about your team when they shrug off a four-run deficit like it was nothing to worry about, confident in their ability to both score plenty of runs and not wilt when the pressure would crush lesser squads.

And that something is that this is yet another potential championship-winning ballclub.

In all fairness to Pauley, he did the best he could under the circumstances. Called up to potentially start just in case an ailing Beckett couldn't go, he was first told they wouldn't need his services but then management quickly reversed that decision when Boston's ace showed up at the ballpark with a stiff neck and was scratched.

Facing one of the top offensive teams in the league and making his first ML start since 2006, Pauley (4.1IP, 7H, 5ER, 2BB, 3K, 2HR) was a bit over matched. Handed a 1-0lead courtesy of Ellsbury's 1st career leadoff homer, the young righty gave it right back in the third when he surrendered three straight hits, a walk, and after two outs, a 2-RBI single by Garret Anderson that gave Anaheim a 3-1 lead.

In the next inning the pesky Maicer Izturis walked with one out, stole second and
was driven home when catcher Jeff Mathis (2-4, 2R, 3BI) homered over the Monster to give LA of A a 5-1 lead.

But rather than panic the Sox just blew on their nails, spit in their palms and said, okay, time to go win this one.

In the bottom of the 4th singles by JD Drew, Kevin Cash, starting his 3rd consecutive game for the ailing Varitek, and Julio 'En Fuego' Lugo cut the Angels' lead to 5-2, and the deficit was erased in the 5th when Ortiz singled in Pedroia, who had doubled, and Youk brought Papi home with his 3rd homer of the season that evened the score at 5 and brought the Fenway Faithful to their feet.

The crowd got even more raucous when Ellsbury hit his second homer of the game with 2outs in the 6th off reliever Darren O'Day to give Boston aa 6-5 lead, but Julian Tavarez gave the nation reason to worry when he gave up back-to-back singles by Chone Figgins and Gary Matthroids Jr to start the 7th.

Tito called on Hideki Okajima, who hadn't pitched in a week due to a stiff neck of his own, to the mound, and after getting Vlad Guerrero (0-5, 2K) to fly to right, Oki retired Garrett Anderson and Torii Hunter to escape the jam, much to the delight of the nervous Nation.

The euphoria was short-lived, however, when Oki surrendered a solo homer to Seminole High's Casey Kotchman to lead off the 8th, and now with the score tied again, Boston would have to go into comeback mode to pull this one out.

Not a problem for a team that had already won 10 such games this season.

Ellsbury got the winning rally started against former Sox reliever Darren Oliver when he dropped a gorgeous bunt single in the Bermuda triangle between the pitcher and 1st & 2nd basemen, completing his rare trifecta of homering twice and recording a bunt single in the same game.

Scott Shields then relived Oliver to face Pedroia, and the little big man greeted him with a lser double down the third base line that scored Ellsbury all the way from first with what turned out to be the game winning run, and the comeback was nearly complete.

All that was left was for Papelbon to come in and slam the door, and throwing 100mph cheese, that's exactly what he did. Not having pitched in a couple of days, Paps ripped off one blazing fastball after another, fanning Matthroids and Guerrero before getting Anderson to pop out to end the game, and the Sox' 11th comeback win of the season was complete.

And while it's nice to know the team is capable of such late game heroics, it would be nice to have an old fashioned wire-to-wire win now and then.

You know, just to keep the heart rate down.

For the fans, not these ice water-in-the-veins assassins.

RECORD: 15-7
STREAK: W6
LST 10: 9-1
AL EAST: Up 3 gms
UP NEXT: Wed vs LA of A 7PM Garland vs. Matsuzaka