Boston's Manny Ramirez, left, and Julian Tavarez congratulate Dustin Pedroia (15) after his two-run home run. The Red Sox won their third straight game to clinch the ALCS on Sunday in Boston.

Boston ? History might not remember it as distinctly as 2004, when the Red Sox overcame a 3-0 deficit to defeat the New York Yankees in the American League championship series.

But the 2007 Red Sox have their own ALCS comeback story now, a bedtime tale for kiddies throughout New England.

It starts with Boston trailing the series 3-1, and Manny Ramirez saying, “If it doesn’t happen, who cares?”

It ends with a memorable Game 7, as the Red Sox flexed all their muscles, big and small, Sunday night to finish off the Cleveland Indians, 11-2, at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox, who outscored the Indians 30-5 over the final three games of the ALCS, will be back at Fenway on Wednesday for Game 1 of the World Series against the Colorado Rockies.

“Nobody wanted to go home,” said Boston rookie second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who had five RBIs in the finale. “Nobody wanted to say goodbye to everybody. So once we got that win in Cleveland (in Game 5), it brought us back here, and we started to believe.”

Cleveland hasn’t won a World Series since 1948, and the Indians felt beside themselves after this loss. While the final score doesn’t show it, this one might have been different if Cleveland hadn’t wasted a golden opportunity when trailing 3-2 in the seventh inning.

Boston opened the door when shortstop Julio Lugo dropped Kenny Lofton’s fly ball in short left field, enabling the veteran speedster to reach second base.

When Franklin Gutierrez followed with a base hit down the third-base line, the whole ballpark probably thought, tie game.

But Indians third-base coach Joel Skinner held Lofton, who screeched to a halt past third base while Ramirez was still gathering the ball in left.

Ramirez was positioned deep, as usual, and had a long run. Skinner said because of how the ball caromed, he was more concerned with Lugo retrieving it from shortstop.

“Lugo was there,” Skinner said. “The ball rolled a little deeper than I thought, but with one out, that’s just what I had to do.”

Asked if he thought he could score on the play, Lofton said, “I always think I have a chance to score no matter what.”

Skinner’s caution proved costly, as Casey Blake immediately hit into an inning-ending double play. The announced crowd of 37,165 let out its loudest roar of the night to that point.

But it would only get louder.

Blake muffed a grounder at third from Jacoby Ellsbury to start the Boston seventh. After a sacrifice bunt, in stepped Pedroia, the spunky rookie from Arizona State. Who knew the little guy would deliver the two biggest hits of the night?

The Indians might have been anticipating a suicide squeeze, but Pedroia blasted a fastball from Rafael Betancourt over the Green Monster.

That made it 5-2, and when Cleveland put the first two runners aboard in the eighth inning, bringing Travis Hafner to the plate, Red Sox manager Terry Francona didn’t hesitate, summoning closer Jonathan Papelbon to record the final six outs.

Francona had Josh Beckett, the series MVP, warm up during the sixth inning, but after getting five solid innings from Daisuke Matsuzaka and two good ones from Hideki Okajima, Francona let Papelbon finish.

Papelbon escaped the eighth inning, and Boston punctuated its comeback in the series with a six-run eighth, getting a three-run double from Pedroia.

“Games of a huge magnitude, our guys don’t get overwhelmed,” Francona said. “It doesn’t assure that you’re going to win, but it is a good feeling.”