Red Sox survive in 14; Astros take series lead

Red Sox 5, Yankees 4, 14 innings\nBOSTON -- After the game that seemed like it would never end, Boston's season goes on.\nDavid Ortiz hit the 472nd pitch of the game with two outs in the 14th inning Monday night to cap a second straight amazing comeback and give the Red Sox a 5-4 victory over the New York Yankees and send the AL championship series back to New York.\nBoston had been three outs from a humiliating sweep in Game 4 before Ortiz's two-run homer in the 12th inning ended a 5-hour, 2-minute marathon at 1:22 a.m. Monday.\nNow, after a 5:49 game that was the longest by time in postseason history, the Red Sox are just one win from climbing out of a 3-0 deficit and forcing an anything-can-happen Game 7.\nBoston was six outs from elimination in this one before Ortiz's leadoff homer off Tom Gordon and Jason Varitek's sacrifice fly off Mariano Rivera in the two-run eighth.\nMike Timlin, Keith Foulke, Bronson Arroyo, Mike Myers, Alan Embree and winner Tim Wakefield combined for eight shutout innings after the Yankees scored four runs off starter Pedro Martinez.\nWakefield wiggled out of trouble in the 13th when Gary Sheffield struck out leading off but reached on a passed ball, and two more passed balls by Varitek on Wakefield's knuckler left runners on second and third.\nBut after the ball nearly got away from Varitek again, popping out of the catcher's glove but staying near the plate, Wakefield struck out Ruben Sierra on a 70-mph knuckler, leaving the Yankees 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position.\nJohnny Damon walked with one out in the 14th to start the winning rally and Manny Ramirez walked with two outs. Ortiz then fouled off eight two-strike pitches, including one that just missed a home run down the right-field line, before dumping a soft single into center field.\nHalf of the Red Sox ran to greet Damon coming home; the others met Ortiz halfway to second base. Raising his arm in triumph, as he did the night before, he leaped for joy.\nNow injured ace Curt Schilling is slated to start for the Red Sox in Game 6 against Jon Lieber, but there could be a holdup: Rain is forecast for New York on Tuesday night.\n \nAstros 3, Cardinals 0\nHOUSTON -- On a night when pitching suddenly took over the NL playoffs, someone was bound to get a hit. Fortunately for the Houston Astros, Jeff Kent stepped up.\nAfter Brandon Backe and Woody Williams dueled in the greatest games of their careers -- and among the best in postseason history -- Kent launched a three-run homer in the ninth inning Monday night that lifted the Astros over St. Louis 3-0 for a 3-2 edge in the NL championship series.\nEach team had only one hit until the final inning. But that quickly changed when Carlos Beltran opened the ninth with a single off Jason Isringhausen.\nBeltran stole second with one out, prompting an intentional walk to Lance Berkman. Kent then swung, flipping his bat after he connected.\nKent tossed off his helmet as he headed home and said, "One more, one more." He was right, because one more victory will put Houston in the World Series for the first time ever.\nBacke, who started the season in the minors, allowed one single in eight innings and Brad Lidge worked a perfect ninth for a combined one-hitter.\nNow, Game 6 will be back in St. Louis on Wednesday, with Matt Morris starting for St. Louis. Roger Clemens may pitch on three days' rest for the Astros -- manager Phil Garner had not yet confirmed his choice.\nBeltran's record streak of homering in five straight postseason games ended, though he gave it a ride in his first at-bat. But he showed off all his other attributes, making two outstanding catches.\nSluggers had ruled the first four games, combining for 19 homers. Backe put a stop to the Cardinals' fun, limiting them to Tony Womack's two-out single in the sixth.\nWilliams matched him for seven innings, allowing Jeff Bagwell's single in the first.\nThe Astros won for the 22nd time in their last 23 home games. And if this was going to be their last showing at Minute Maid Park, it was a great one.\nWhile pitching dominated, Beltran provided the highlights.\nThe All-Star center fielder and soon-to-be-free agent made the play of the game with two outs and no one on in the seventh, racing to his right for a diving, backhanded catch to rob Edgar Renteria.\nBeltran raised his glove, left fielder Craig Biggio lifted his mitt and Backe punched the air. To a standing ovation, Beltran casually trotted to the dugout and flipped the ball into the seats.\nIn the eighth, Beltran ran back and halfway up the quirky hill in dead center to haul in Reggie Sanders' shot in front of the in-play flag pole, about 420 feet from the plate.\nAbout the only thing Beltran did not do was hit another home run. He made a bid for it, hitting a long fly ball to left that Sanders caught on the warning track.\nBacke and Williams both looked far from overpowering, mainly relying on breaking balls to get outs. Even so, they were virtually unhittable.\nBacke, a former schoolboy football star in Texas and an outfielder in the Tampa Bay system, bamboozled the Cardinals from the start. He set down the first 13 batters before walking Jim Edmonds in the fifth, and did not allow a hit until Womack pulled a single past diving first baseman Bagwell.\nAfter Larry Walker walked, Backe faced his first jam when Albert Pujols stepped to the plate. That brought pitching coach Jim Hickey to the mound, and he'd just gotten back to the dugout when Pujols popped up to end the inning.\nThe final out brought a roar from the crowd and chants of "Back-e! Back-e!" His father, Harold, was so fired up he charged over from his seat and gave a loud high-five to the ballpark public-address announcer.\n"It was a strong, almost miracle performance from a guy who was born to do this," his dad said.\nWilliams, meanwhile, quietly and efficiently went about his business in front of a sizable cheering section. Born and raised in Houston, he'd gotten more than 50 tickets for family and friends when the NLCS returned to town.\nWilliams gave up a sharp single up the middle to Bagwell in the first inning, and little else. He worked around a couple of walks, and escaped his only problem by retiring Jose Vizcaino on a grounder with two on to end the fourth.\nAs always, the Cardinals' stellar defense helped out.\nAll-Star third baseman Scott Rolen made a diving stop and easily gunned out Bagwell from his knees, and Pujols made a diving stop and quick flip to Williams to get Beltran. In the seventh, Sanders cut over into the gap and reached up to grab Kent's leadoff liner.\nThen again, great gloves are another hallmark of the Cardinals. They have not made in error in nine playoff games this year.