Nixon’s home run boosts Boston

? The Red Sox may have found a playoff opponent more unlucky than they are.

Pinch-hitter Trot Nixon hit a two-run homer in the 11th inning, and Boston took advantage of Oakland’s disastrous fielding and baserunning to beat the Athletics, 3-1, Saturday night and avoid elimination in their best-of-five postseason series.

“You can only dream of these types of instances,” Nixon said.

Boston managed just seven hits but forced a Game 4 today thanks to four Oakland errors — three in the second inning. The A’s also had two runners thrown out at the plate in a bizarre sixth inning that sent the umpires to their rule books and A’s manager Ken Macha into a fury.

The score remained 1-1 until the 11th — the second time in three games the teams have needed extra innings.

Rich Harden, Oakland’s fifth pitcher, came on to start the 11th and got Kevin Millar to pop out. Doug Mirabelli then singled to right and Nixon, batting for Gabe Kapler, hit a 1-1 pitch to straightaway center field.

“He was waiting for that pitch, I guess,” Harden said. “I give him credit.”

Raising his fist in the air as he rounded the bases, Nixon was met at home plate by his teammates in a celebration reminiscent of the one that greeted the team’s wild-card clincher — the last time they had played at Fenway.

“All the home runs you hit in your career in the regular season don’t mean much unless you start hitting some in the postseason,” Nixon said. “This is what you play for.”

Boston’s much-maligned bullpen threw four perfect innings, three of them by Mike Timlin before Scott Williamson pitched the 11th for the win.

John Burkett pitches today against Tim Hudson. A Red Sox win would send the teams back to Oakland for Game 5 Monday, and Pedro Martinez probably would face Barry Zito for a chance to advance to the AL championship series.

“We really believe that we’re still in this thing,” said Derek Lowe, who allowed six hits in seven innings.

It was the seventh consecutive time that the A’s have lost a playoff game in which they had a chance to advance. Despite making the playoffs in four straight years, Oakland has not won a postseason series since sweeping Boston in 1990 to make it to the World Series.

The A’s had won 10 consecutive playoff games against the Red Sox, also sweeping them in 1988. The Red Sox have not won the World Series since 1918, but their recent history bodes a little better: They rallied from an 0-2 deficit to beat Cleveland in the first round in 1999.

Oakland was the last team to blow a 2-0 lead in the first round, losing three straight to the New York Yankees in 2001.

“We played a poor second inning,” Macha said. “I think we gave them seven outs in the second inning. It’s amazing they only got one run.”

When the A’s had a chance to go ahead in the sixth, they wasted it.

With runners on first and third, Miguel Tejada dribbled a ball toward third base. Lowe fielded it and threw it past catcher Jason Varitek, but Varitek blocked the plate as Eric Byrnes slid past it.

As Varitek ran to get the ball — getting a two-handed shove from Byrnes on the way — Byrnes made no effort to touch the plate. Umpire Paul Emmel made no signal until Varitek tagged Byrnes, who appeared shocked.

“It was a weird game with a lot of weird calls going on,” Millar said.

Then things got weirder.

Ramon Hernandez hit a grounder past shortstop Nomar Garciaparra for an error that allowed Erubiel Durazo to score. Third baseman Bill Mueller collided with Tejada near third base, and third base umpire Bill Welke signaled obstruction.

Tejada trotted nonchalantly toward home, slowing up way short of the plate.

Varitek got the ball and tagged Tejada out, infuriating the A’s, who argued for several minutes that Tejada should have been allowed to score. Under rule 7.06 (b), it is the umpire’s judgment whether to award an extra base to an obstructed runner.