Red Sox knuckle under, Rays surge to 3-1 lead

BOSTON - They fluttered in and rocketed out: Three more homers sent sailing over the Green Monster, and Tampa Bay was on its way to another blowout in Boston.

Suddenly, the upstart Rays are one win from their first AL pennant.

Evan Longoria hit his rookie record fifth home run of the playoffs, and Carlos Pena and Willy Aybar also homered off aging knuckleballer Tim Wakefield on Tuesday night to give Tampa Bay a 13-4 victory over the Red Sox that left the defending champions on the brink of elimination.

"We know we're real close now to going to the World Series," said Carl Crawford, who tied an AL championship series record with five hits. "A lot of guys won't say it: There's a nice vibe right now."

Aybar had four hits and five RBIs, and Andy Sonnanstine pitched 7 1-3 sharp innings as Tampa Bay took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven playoff. After an off day, James Shields will have a chance to pitch the Rays to the Series when he faces Game 1 winner Daisuke Matsuzaka on Thursday night at Fenway Park.

"They're dangerous, they play loose and have good chemistry. Sometimes it's an advantage when there aren't a lot of expectations," said Red Sox pitcher Paul Byrd, who was on the Indians when they blew a 3-1 lead over Boston in last year's ALCS. "I don't think anybody thought we would go back to our place and get beat up like this."

Tampa Bay had never even approached a .500 record during its first decade in the majors before edging wildcard Boston for the AL East title by two games. But the Rays were poised and powerful against a Red Sox team that has made the playoffs in five of the last six years, advancing to the ALCS four times and winning it all twice.

Facing the 42-year-old Wakefield, the oldest pitcher to start an ALCS game, the league's newest team homered three times in the first three innings to take a 5-0 lead. The Rays scored another in the fifth and blew it open with five more in the sixth when seven straight batters reached base to make it 11-1.

"Sitting through that wasn't a whole lot of fun," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "We've been on the other side. When it happens to you, you've got to get through it the best you can, and we'll need to regroup as quickly as we can."

Fans lined up for the exits after the Red Sox went down 1-2-3 in the sixth ¿the third inning in a row they were retired in order; TV showed horror-master Stephen King reading a book in the stands, bored.