J.D. Drew bailed out the Red Sox while giving Boston a 2-0 lead in the American League Division Series.

Drew launched a tiebreaking two-run homer off closer Francisco Rodriguez in the ninth inning as the Red Sox downed the Los Angeles Angels 7-5 at Anaheim.

The Red Sox blew a 5-1 lead before Drew came through with his first home run since July 26. Drew finished with three RBIs for the BoSox, who beat the Angels in a postseason game for the 11th straight time since the 1986 ALCS.

Boston seemed poised for a rout after Jason Bay's three-run blast put the Red Sox ahead 4-0 in the first inning, one batter after Drew hit an RBI double. Jacoby Ellsbury added a run-scoring double that made it 5-1 in the fourth before the Angels clawed back.

Mark Teixeira fueled the Angels' rally while going 3-for-3 with three runs scored. Teixeira's sacrifice fly knotted the score 5-5 in the eighth before Drew put Los Angeles on the brink of elimination.

Jonathon Papelbon retired all six batters he faced to pick up the victory.

The Red Sox can close out the series Sunday at Fenway Park.

Rays Beat White Sox 6-2; Red Sox Lead Angels

The young, resilient Rays are one win from breezing into the American League championship series.

All-Star Scott Kazmir settled down after a shaky start, Akinori Iwamura hit a go-ahead, two-run homer and the AL East champions beat the Chicago White Sox 6-2 Friday for a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Giving many fans a close-up look of the formula that transformed Tampa Bay from a last-place team to a power, the Rays rallied for the second straight day and remained undefeated in their young postseason history.

The Rays go for a sweep when the series resumes Sunday in Chicago. Tampa Bay's Matt Garza (11-9) faces John Danks (12-9), trying to seal a matchup against World Series champion Boston or the Los Angeles Angels in the next round.

The White Sox started quickly, scoring twice in the first on Jim Thome's RBI single and Alexei Ramirez's sacrifice fly, but Kazmir struck out Juan Uribe with the bases loaded after three straight foul balls.

Dioner Navarro's run-scoring single off Mark Beuhrle in the second began the comeback following a two-base throwing error by Ramirez at second, and Iwamura gave Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead with a drive into the left-center field stands off Beuhrle in the fifth.

The Rays added three runs in the eighth, when B.J. Upton tripled and scored on Carl Crawford's single, which chased Buehrle. Baldelli's run-scoring single against Octavio Dotel made it 5-2, and Navarro followed with a RBI double off Matt Thornton.

At 24, Kazmir is the youngest member of Tampa Bay's rotation and already the franchise's career victories leader. But high pitch counts also have been an issue for the two-time All-Star, who threw 37 in the first inning.

He hit Orlando Cabrera with a pitch, walked Nick Swisher and gave up a single to Jermaine Dye that loaded the bases with no outs in the first.

The White Sox threatened again in the second and fourth but couldn't score. They stranded eight runners through five innings, allowing the Rays to stay close until Iwamura's opposite-field homer put Tampa Bay ahead.

Kazmir allowed two runs and eight hits in 5 1-3 innings, leaving after Uribe's leadoff single and a sacrifice bunt in the sixth. Manager Joe Maddon brought in Grant Balfour to face Orlando Cabrera, who had a heated exchange with the Rays reliever before striking out in crucial situation in Game 1.

Balfour got the better of Cabrera again, but this time without the dramatics of Thursday when the players shouted at each other after Balfour said something to himself on the mound and the White Sox shortstop mistakenly thought he was talking to him.

Cabrera grounded to second base, moving Uribe to third base, before Balfour escaped the jam by getting Swisher on a flyout.