Sox on brink of title

Photo: The Canadian Press

An 18-inning loss in Game 3 of the World Series couldn't wear out the Boston Red Sox. A four-run deficit late in Game 4 definitely didn't faze them.

This plucky powerhouse just kept getting big hits to move to the brink of another championship.

Steve Pearce hit a tying homer in the eighth and a three-run double in the ninth, and the Red Sox emphatically rallied for a 9-6 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.

Pinch-hitter Rafael Devers singled home Brock Holt with the tiebreaking run in the ninth as Boston roared to a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven matchup.

"I've never been on a team where you just get punched in the face and then come back tomorrow and act like they are totally fine," Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez said. "It's impressive."

Game 5 is Sunday at Dodger Stadium, where the Red Sox can close out a spectacular season with their fourth title in 15 years. Boston picked Game 2 winner David Price to start on short rest against fellow lefty Clayton Kershaw.

Soon after Yasiel Puig's three-run homer in the sixth put the Dodgers up 4-0, Boston's incredible surge began with pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland's three-run homer. By the time they were done decimating the Dodgers' bullpen, six Red Sox had combined for seven hits — four for extra bases.

Boston scored just two runs in its first 24 innings at Dodger Stadium, but added nine more in the last three innings of Game 4.

"Sometimes in October we talk about mechanics, and how you feel at the plate and all that, (but) sometimes it's will," manager Alex Cora said. "You will yourself to do great things. And it started very simple. A few good at-bats, and then the big swing, and we kept rolling and we didn't stop playing."

The Red Sox will have trouble topping this performance, in which they overcame a three-run deficit in a World Series game for the second time. Boston also rallied from three down against Cincinnati in 1975 in Game 6, best known for Carlton Fisk's dramatic homer in the 12th after Bernie Carbo tied it with a three-run shot.

"We're not out yet," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "Our guys aren't done. We've got our best going tomorrow and we're expecting to win a baseball game."