Red Sox on the brink

October 18, 2007

The Boston Red Sox are facing their last game against the Cleveland Indians.

The unstoppable Colorado Rockies, winners of 21 of their last 22 games, will meet the Boston-Cleveland survivor.

CLEVELAND -- Major League Baseball's one-sided playoffs resume Thursday night with the Boston Red Sox facing elimination against Cleveland.

With the Indians owning a 3-1 lead in the American League Championship Series, Josh Beckett will attempt to keep his team's season alive.

Beckett, the only 20-game winner in the majors this year, captured the first game of the series before the Indians ran off three straight victories. He will face first-game loser C.C. Sabathia.

Cleveland hopes to continue this year's playoff trend -- one that has seen all of the series turn into runaways.

Teams that have advanced in the playoffs thus far have lost a total of one game -- a triumph by the New York Yankees in Game 3 of their division series against Cleveland.

The streaking Colorado Rockies, winners of 21 of their last 22 games, will meet the Boston-Cleveland survivor when the World Series opens next Wednesday.