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Two-out rallies by Red Sox rough up Rockies

Jack Etkin, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 25, 2007 at midnight

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BOSTON — Two pitches was all it took for the Red Sox to pounce upon the Rockies. And two outs proved to be nothing more than a place for Boston’s offense to pause in Game 1 of the World Series, gather itself and inflict major damage.

Dustin Pedroia led off the first Wednesday with a home run, lining Jeff Francis’ 0-1 just over the Green Monster in left-center. With that swing, Pedroia found a niche in Series history and the Red Sox, it turned out, were turning the key and revving up their very potent attack.

While roughing up the Rockies 13-1, the Red Sox scored 11 runs with two out.

The Red Sox sent 13 batters to the plate in a seven-run sixth, scoring all their runs with two out — and aided immeasurably by relievers Franklin Morales, who gave up six hits and retired two of the nine batters faced, and Ryan Speier, who came on with the bases loaded and walked the three batters he faced.

Sluggers David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez once again keyed the Red Sox attack. Ramirez went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. He reached base four times and has done so 30 of 50 plate appearances in the postseason. Ortiz went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and one RBI. He has reached base in 28 of 51 postseason plate appearances.

Pedroia, a 24-year-old rookie who seems determined to not get cheated with every maximum-effort swing he takes, hit eight homers in 520 at-bats during the regular season, five coming at Fenway Park. He began the postseason by going 5-for-29 in seven games but has since gone 8-for-18<>.

Pedroia’s homer was the start of a three-run inning that included Manny Ramirez’s run-scoring single with two out on Francis’ first pitch. He gave up two-out hits to Jason Varitek and J.D. Drew, the latter’s a run-scoring double.

Francis retired the first two batters he faced in the fourth before loading the bases, and Varitek followed with a two-run double.

The real two-out carnage came in the fifth when Morales entered the game. With two out and a runner on first, Morales balked and then a succession of run-scoring hits — Kevin Youkilis’ single, Ortiz’s double, Ramirez’s single — followed by Mike Lowell’s double, a walk to Varitek and Drew’s run-scoring single.

Speier then walked Lugo, Jacoby Ellsbury and Pedroia in succession, throwing just four of his 16 pitches for strikes and saddling Morales with a Series ERA of 94.50.