KEY POINTS:
Larry Fine
DENVER - The Boston Red Sox beat the Colorado Rockies 4-3 on Sunday to win the US major league baseball world series and record their second four-game sweep of the Fall Classic in four years.
Boston, who had gone 86 years without winning a world series
before sweeping the St Louis Cardinals in 2004, repeated the feat by outscoring the Rockies a cumulative 29-10.
Starter Jon Lester took the win, Jonathan Papelbon notched the save and world series "most valuable player" Mike Lowell paced a nine-hit attack with a double and home run in the final chapter of this year's best-of-seven major league baseball championship.
Papelbon struck out Seth Smith for the final out, touching off wild celebrations at the mound that started with catcher Jason Varitek leaping into the reliever's arms.
"This team have got a lot of heart," team captain Varitek told reporters.
"We just beat a very, very good team, an excellent team. We had to do the little things, and we were able to."
The Rockies, who won 21 of 22 games to storm into the postseason and their first World Series, never found their stride after waiting eight days for the Series to begin.
Left-hander Lester, who underwent chemotherapy last year to treat lymphoma, went five and 2/3 scoreless innings, giving up three hits in his first postseason start.
Boston scored single runs in the first and fifth innings and made it 3-0 on Lowell's homer in the seventh off starter and loser Aaron Cook.
Colorado's Brad Hawpe skied a solo shot to right in the bottom of the seventh to bring the Rockies to 3-1 before Boston restored their three-run cushion on the first pitch of the eighth, Bobby Kielty hitting a pinch-hit homer.
But Colorado would not go down without a fight.
Garrett Atkins clubbed a two-run homer off Hideki Okajima as the Rockies got back to 4-3 in the eighth before hard-throwing Papelbon was summoned to get the last five outs for his third save of the series.
"It doesn't get old," said Boston manager Terry Francona after his second title in four years.
"I'm so proud of our organisation."
Thousands of Red Sox supporters made their way to the lower deck behind the Boston dugout after the game and celebrated with chants of "Let's Go Red Sox," and an old favourite aimed at an archrival - "Yankees Suck".
- REUTERS