2004 Boston Red Sox Season Summary

Record: 98-64, 2nd in American League East (5 teams)
Runs Scored: 949
Runs Allowed: 768
Pythagorean W-L: 96-66

Manager(s): Terry Francona (98-64)
Ball Park: Fenway Park

Post-Season Results

Won AL Division Series over Anaheim Angels (3-0)
Won AL Championship Series over New York Yankees (4-3)
Won World Series over St. Louis Cardinals (4-0)

Notable Moments from 2004

5 February 2004 - Returning home to where he started his career, free agent designated hitter Ellis Burks signs a one-year deal with Boston.

7 April 2004 - Johnny Damon collects five hits, including a double, in Boston's 10-3 win over Baltimore.

8 May 2004 - Shortstop Pokey Reese hits two home runs, including an inside-the-park job, as starter Curt Schilling goes the distance in a 9-1 Boston win over Kansas City at Fenway Park.

15 May 2004 - Kevin Youkilis makes his major league debut and hits a home run in his second at-bat, also his first major league hit, as Boston beats Toronto 4-0 at Fenway Park.

24 July 2004 - Jason Varitek and Alex Rodriguez rumble after the latter is hit by a Bronson Arroyo pitch in the third; Boston gets the last laugh and rallies to win 11-10 over New York at Fenway Park thanks to Bill Mueller's two-run home run in the ninth off Yankees closer Mariano Rivera.

31 July 2004 - Nomar Garciaparra departs after seven-plus seasons in Boston, traded to Chicago in a blockbuster four-team deal that brings shortstop Orlando Cabrera and first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz to the Red Sox.

8 August 2004 - Despite allowing six home runs, Tim Wakefield and the Red Sox win 11-9 over the Tigers in Detroit. Wakefield is one of only six pitchers in modern baseball history to yield six home runs in one game.

27 September 2004 - Boston clinches the wild card playoff berth with a 7-3 win over Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field.

1 October 2004 - Red Sox second baseman Mark Bellhorn sets a franchise single-season record by striking out for the 177th time in a 7-5 Boston win over Baltimore in the second half of a doubleheader.

8 October 2004 - David Ortiz takes the first pitch from Jarrod Washburn in the tenth inning and plants it into the Monster Seats at Fenway Park as Boston wins 8-6 over Anaheim and sweeps the best-of-five division series.

16 October 2004 - New York humiliates Boston at its home field with a 19-8 win to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the American League Championship Series. No team to that point had ever rallied from a 0-3 series deficit in major league baseball history.

17 October 2004 - Boston staves off elimination thanks to the heroics of Dave Roberts and David Ortiz in a 6-4 Red Sox win over the Yankees in Game Four of the ALCS. Roberts' steal of second base allows him to come home on Bill Mueller's single up the middle in the bottom of the ninth to tie the score, at Ortiz wins it with a two-run home run in the 12th inning.

18 October 2004 - Less than 24 hours after forcing a fifth game in the series, David Ortiz hits his second consecutive walk-off hit, driving home Johnny Damon from second with a bloop single in the 14th inning as Boston wins 5-4 over New York. The Red Sox had rallied late to tie the score at four with two runs in the eighth, including a solo home run from Ortiz.

19 October 2004 - Curt Schilling, the tendon in his ankle sutured together to allow him to pitch, goes seven innings and allows just one run of four hits and Boston wins 4-2 in Game Six of the ALCS versus New York. Mark Bellhorn's three-run home run in the fourth proved to be the difference.

20 October 2004 - Boston rebounds from an 0-3 series deficit and clobbers New York 10-3 at Yankee Stadium for the club's first pennant in 18 years. Johnny Damon hits two home runs, David Ortiz hits his third of the series, and Derek Lowe earns the win by allowing just one run on one hit in six innings of work. The Red Sox become the first team to ever rally from an 0-3 playoff series deficit in Major League Baseball history.

23 October 2004 - Mark Bellhorn's two-run home run off the Pesky Pole in right field seals an 11-9 Red Sox win over the Cardinals in Game One of the World Series. St. Louis had come back from deficits of 7-2 and 9-7 thanks in part to four Boston errors, but the home team holds on to win.

24 October 2004 - Boston wins Game Two of the 2004 World Series 6-2 over St. Louis at Fenway Park thanks to another surprising performance from starter Curt Schilling, who allows an unearned run in six innings of work with blood leeching through his sock from his reconstructed right ankle. Jason Varitek leads the offensive attack for the Red Sox with a two-run triple.

26 October 2004 - Pedro Martinez pitches seven strong innings, allowing just three hits, and Manny Ramirez homers and throws out a runner at home in the first as Boston wins 4-1 over St. Louis to put the Red Sox one win from a world championship for the first time since 1918.

27 October 2004 - With a lunar eclipse occurring simultaneously, Boston shuts out St. Louis 3-0 and sweeps the Cardinals in four games for the first Red Sox World Series win in 86 years. Johnny Damon leads off the game with a home run, Trot Nixon adds two more with a double, and Derek Lowe goes seven strong to become the first pitcher in Major League Baseball history to win the deciding game of all three series in a single postseason. The final out comes when Cardinals shortstop Edgar Renteria hits a chopper back to closer Keith Foulke, who easily underhands the throw to first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz, and Boston becomes the fourth team to sweep a series without having ever trailed in any of its four games.