Game 5 - Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois
Boston         4 0 1     0 0 0     1 0 1     7 9 0
Chicago     0 0 0     0 0 3     0 0 2     5 10 1

Starters: BOS - Tim Wakefield    CHI: K Wood
WP: Wakefield, LP: Wood, S: Williamson

A two-run homer by Nixon and a two-run double by Ortiz would help the Red Sox jump out to an early 4-0 first inning lead off of Wood. Wakefield, who struggled early in Game 1, had his knuckler working early, scattering three hits through the first five innings. The Cubs would cut it to 5-3 in the sixth when Damian Miller slapped a bases-clearing double into the gap, scoring Sosa, Grudzielanek and Lofton. Once again, Boston would answer right back, this time on a Damon infield single in the seventh that would score Varitek. The Sox would add another in the ninth on an RBI single by Bill Mueller. Tom Goodwin would cut the game to 7-5 with a two-run shot off of Arroyo in the bottom of the ninth, but that’s as close as the Cubs would get.

Game 6 - Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
Chicago     0 0 0     1 0 3     0 0 0      4 7 1
Boston     0 0 0     0 0 0     0 0 0     0 4 0

Starters: CHI - Mark Prior    BOS: Derek Lowe
WP: Prior, LP Lowe

Prior threw seven scoreless innings, struck out 11, allowed only two hits and made a serious case for World Series MVP with a stellar Game 6 performance. The Cubs scored in the fourth when Corey Patterson’s line drive found “the triangle” in right center, scoring Grudzelanek. The Cubs would add three in the sixth on RBI doubles by Sosa and Aramis Ramirez, Sosa’s scoring both Lofton and Grudzielanek. Nixon collected two of the four Boston hits, all of which were singles.

Game 7 - Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
Chicago     0 0 0     0 0 1     0 1 0     2 6 0
Boston     0 0 0     0 1 0     1 2 x     4 9 0

Starters: CHI:    Carlos Zambrano    BOS: Pedro Martinez
WP: Timlin    LP: Farnsworth    S: Williamson

Mike Timlin and Grady Little went from World Series goats to World Series heroes in less than an inning. Little elected to pull Pedro Martinez after seven innings of one-run, four-hit baseball. A move met with scattered groaning throughout the New England region. Pedro’s pitch count was, after all, 97 pitches. And this was, after all, the seventh game of the World Series. Yet, Little went with his trusted tandem of Timlin and Scott Williamson to do what they had done all postseason long… protect leads like the 2-1 lead they had going into the eighth inning of Game 7.

Maybe they should have left Pedro in?

Grudzielanek ripped a one-out single up the middle and Sosa hit a double into the left-center field gap that would score Grudzielanek from first. All of the sudden the game was tied at two. Timlin would then get Patterson to bounce one to second base, moving Sosa, the go-ahead run to third. But Timlin persevered, getting Aramis Ramirez to bounce out to short to end the inning.

But, as they had throughout the whole series, the Red Sox responded almost immediately. Todd Walker drew a one-out walk off and Kevin Millar hit a bloop single to centerfield. With runners on first and second and one-out, Damon blasted a double into the right-center field gap that would score both runners.

Williamson came in to pitch the top of the ninth, looking to protect the 4-2 lead, doing so with relative ease. Moises Alou would fly out to left. Eric Karros would pop out to second and Alex Gonzalez would ground out to his counterpart Nomar Garciaparra to end the ballgame. The Red Sox were World Series Champions, their first since 1918.