George bracket: Red Sox (09) defeat Red Sox (69) in six games

Game One: 69 Red Sox 10, 09 Red Sox 4
WP: Culp (1-0)
LP: Beckett (0-1)
HR: Andrews (1), Yastzremski (1)

Game Two: 09 Red Sox 3, 69 Red Sox 1
WP: Lester (1-0)
LP: Nagy (0-1)
Save: Papelbon (1)
HR: Youkilis (1), Petrocelli (1)

Game Three: 69 Red Sox 12, 09 Red Sox 11 (10 innings)
WP: Lyle (1-0)
LP: Okajima (0-1)
HR: Bay 2 (2), Petrocelli 2 (3), Pedroia (1), Andrews (2), Yastzremski (2), Smith (1), Gibson (1), Varitek (1)

Game Four: 09 Red Sox 8, 69 Red Sox 5
WP: Penny (1-0)
LP: Lonborg (0-1)
Save: Papelbon (2)
HR: Varitek (2), Baldelli (1), Andrews (3), Petrocelli (4)

Game Five: 09 Red Sox 6, 69 Red Sox 3
WP: Beckett (1-1)
LP: Romo (0-1)
Save: Papelbon (3)
HR: Drew (1), V Martinez (1)

Game Six: 09 Red Sox 2, 69 Red Sox 1 (10 innings)
WP: R Ramirez (1-0)
LP: Lee (0-1)

This series featured 20 home runs, two extra-inning decisions and few strong starts from anybody not named Jon Lester.

The 69 Red Sox fell behind 4-1 in the second inning of the opener, but Ray Culp steadied for four shutout innings while Josh Beckett melted down in the fifth and sixth. By the time John Smoltz got out of the sixth, the 69 Sox led 9-4 and were never threatened the rest of the way. Rico Petrocelli went 5-for-5 with three doubles and a triple for the 69 Sox.

Lester got the 09 Sox even in the series with eight innings of six-hit, one-run ball. Petrocelli dinged him for a homer in the first; Petrocelli got hits in his first three trips, running his streak to eight straight hits before Lester struck him out to end the eighth. Mike Nagy walked six in his six innings, and two of the free passes forced in runs.

The series shifted to the 1969 version of Fenway Park for Game Three, and the old yard yielded a 10-homer slugfest that went the home team's way in the 10th inning. In a dubious managerial decision, 09 closer Jonathan Paplebon never appeared as the visitors frittered away a game they led by six at one point,

Among the highlights:

• The first three hitters for the 69 Sox -- Mike Andrews, Carl Yastzremski and Petrocelli -- homered off Tim Wakefield.
• Jason Bay of the 09 Sox hit a three-run homer in the third inning and a grand slam in the fourth off Sonny Siebert.
• Jacoby Ellsbury threw out two 69 Sox runners at the plate in the bottom of the ninth to get the game to extra innings.
• Russ Gibson, light-hitting backstop for the 69 Red Sox, led off the bottom of the 10th with the game winning homer off  Hideki Okajima.

Bill Lee kept the 69 Sox in the game with four innings of one-run relief after Siebert gave up 10 runs in less than four innings. The 69 Sox plated two runs in the seventh off Ramon Ramirez, two in the eighth off Takashi Saito, and another in the ninth off Manny Delcarmen.

The 09 Sox bounced back in Game Four. Jason Varitek hit a three-run homer in the second, and they batted around for four runs in the fifth against Jon Lonborg. The 69 Sox knocked Brad Penny out of the box in sixth and pulled within two runs after seven, but Okajima and Paplebon shut them out in the last two frames.

Game Five was out of the Earl Weaver text book for the 09 Red Sox. Beckett went eight innings, allowing seven hits and three runs, while the 09 Sox got a three-run homer from Victor Martinez in the sixth off Culp and a three-run homer from J.D. Drew in the eighth off Vincente Romo.

Back in the 2009 version of Fenway, the 09 Sox wrapped up the series in Game Six with a 10-inning win. A sac fly from David Oritz in the first inning gave the 09 Sox a quick lead, and Lester made it hold up through seven innings, The 69 Sox tied it in the eighth on singles by Gibson, Yastzremski and Petrocelli, and Sparky Lyle tossed 2.3 shutout innings in relief of Nagy to push the game into the 10th.

Lee, so strong in the Game Three slugfest, entered for the bottom of the 10th and didn't retire a batter. Bay led off with a double and Drew followed with a long single for the 2-1 win and the series triumph.

Although his team lost the series, Rico Petrocelli was player of the series. The shortstop was 15-for-23 with 11 extra base hits (four homers, one triple and six doubles), nine runs scored and eight RBIs.

Pitcher availability: Burkett is at full rest for Game One. Lester can pitch Game Two with penalty. The bullpen will be fully available. Roster shuffle may be advisable.