The Cleveland Indians scored seven runs in the 11th inning on Saturday to beat the Boston Red Sox 13-6 and knot the American League Championship Series at one game apiece.
Trott Nixon, who spent his first 10 seasons with the Red Sox and joined Cleveland as a free agent before the start of this season, singled off reliever Javier Lopez to drive in the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th.
The energized Indians added six more runs in the inning, with Franklin Gutierrez capping the scoring with a three-run homer.
The Indians avoided going home to Jacobs Field two games down in the best-of-seven series which will send one team to the World Series. Instead the series is tied 1-1, with game three today in Cleveland.
"A frustrating end to an exciting game," said Boston manager Terry Francona. "But we won't let this unravel us or we're not as good as we think. We'll get on a plane, work out tomorrow and regroup."
Cleveland reliever Joe Borowski recorded the final out at 1:37am after a five-hour, 14-minute game that was expected to be a duel between aces -- Cleveland's Fausto Carmona and Boston's Curt Schilling -- turned into a battle of bullpens as neither starter made it through five innings.
Through six innings the score was 6-6, and it stayed that way until Nixon, coming up with two on and one out, dropped a single into center that scored Grady Sizemore.
"I knew they had a couple of lefties left in the bullpen, I was just excited to get a chance," Nixon said. "Lopez can be difficult on lefthanders. He's a submariner. I just shortened up and put enough bat on the ball and snuck it in. It wasn't hit that well."
The Red Sox had staked Schilling, 40, to a 3-1 lead through three innings, but the veteran gave up a pair of one-out singles and a three-run hit to Jhonny Peralta in the fourth. An inning later Sizemore belted a homer to right off Schilling to put the Indians up 5-3.
Schilling, who helped the Red Sox win the 2004 World Series crown, allowed nine hits and five runs in 4 and two thirds innings.
The Red Sox took a 6-5 lead in the fifth on back-to-back homers by Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell.
Ramirez's blast was his 23rd in postseason play, moving him past Bernie Williams for first place all-time.
The Indians tied it in the sixth with a walk, a single and groundout.
Eric Gagne was charged with the loss after giving up a walk and hit before he was replaced by Lopez.
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