The Boston Red Sox beat the Colorado Rockies 4-3 on Sunday to win the World Series in their second four-game sweep of the Fall Classic in four years.
Starter Jon Lester took the win, Jonathan Papelbon notched the save and World Series MVP 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.
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.
Papelbon struck out Seth Smith for the final out, touching off a wild celebration at the mound that started with catcher Jason Varitek leaping into the reliever's arms.
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 but fought to the finish in Game Four.
Left-hander Lester, who took chemotherapy treatment last winter to treat lymphoma, went five and two-thirds 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 had home runs from Brad Hawpe in the seventh and Garrett Atkins in the eighth to climb 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.
