Pennant!

The Sox topped the Cleveland Indians 11-2 Sunday to take the AL pennant. Some observations:

The game was not the relaxed affair that the score would indicate. The game was close until the seventh inning, when Dustin Pedroia hit a two-run homer to give the Sox some breathing room, and the eighth, when they broke it open. The big hit of the inning was a bases-loaded double by Pedroia that plated three runs.

This win, of course, comes after Saturday night's 12-2 win, which featured a strong outing by Curt Schilling and offense from players not named Ortiz, Ramirez or Lowell. Those players basically carried the team offensively until the weekend, when the rest of the lineup, notably Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and J.D. Drew, made significant contributions.

Rookies were central to the Sunday's pennant-clinching win. Daisuke Matsuzaka gave up two runs in five innings of work. Hideki Okajima pitched two-plus innings to get the game to Jonathan Papelbon. Jacoby Ellsbury was 1-for-3 and scored two runs, including from first base on Pedroia's eighth-inning double. And, of course, Pedroia drove in five runs.

Coco Crisp made a trerrific catch in the triangle in deep center to end the game. He came up limping after crashing into the bullpen wall.

Josh Beckett was named the series MVP.

The World Series starts Wednesday in Boston. Beckett will get the ball. The Sox need to take the first two home games because the lack of a DH rule in NL parks will force them to sit Youkilis in order to keep David Ortiz in the lineup. Youkilis is swinging a hot bat right now and is solid defensively, so it wouldn't be a tremendous shock to see him start one of the games in Denver, especially if the Sox have a commanding lead in the series.

Congratulations to the Red Sox on winning the AL pennant. But there's still some work to do. Go Sox!