(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-10-28 19:03

DENVER - The Boston Red Sox beat the Colorado Rockies 10-5 on Saturday to move within one victory of winning the World Series.

Rookie center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury had four hits, including three doubles, scored two runs and drove in two more to pace a 15-hit attack to help Boston grab a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Fall Classic.

The Red Sox can capture their second World Series crown in four years with a win in Game Four on Sunday at Coors Field.

Back in 2004, Red Sox manager Terry Francona pulled Boston back from a 3-0 deficit against the Yankees to win the American League title.

Asked what he told his team when they were in the same spot the Rockies are in now, Francona said: "Same thing we'll tell our guys...go out and play tomorrow's game.

"That's what we always do, stay in the moment."

The return home to the Mile High city failed to change the fortunes for the Rockies, who dropped the first two games of the series in Boston and are now on the brink of elimination.

Twenty-two teams have lost the first three games of a World Series. None of them came back to win the championship.

"GROUND-BREAKING TERRITORY"

"Looks like we're in ground-breaking territory," said Rockies manager Clint Hurdle. "We just have to go out and win Game Four."

Boston jumped out to a 6-0 lead with a third-inning barrage off losing pitcher Josh Fogg, who yielded 10 hits and two walks in two and 2/3 innings of work.

Colorado narrowed it to 6-5 after Matt Holliday's three-run homer in the seventh off reliever Hideki Okajima, but Boston tacked on three more runs in the eighth and another in the ninth, and Jonathan Papelbon closed it out for the save.

Daisuke Matsuzaka celebrated the milestone of becoming the first Japanese pitcher to start in the World Series by pitching into the sixth inning for the win. He also helped his cause by delivering a two-run single during the third-inning outburst.

"I thought that was the best life on his fastball in a long time," Francona said about Matsuzaka. "I thought he pitched really well."

Matsuzaka left in the sixth after a pair of one-out walks. Javier Lopez came on in relief and yielded singles to Brad Hawpe and Yorvit Torrealba that made it 6-2.

Reliever Mike Timlin nearly gave up more runs, ending the inning on Ryan Spilborgh's towering fly to the center field wall and Jeff Baker's line drive that was snared by shortstop Julio Lugo at the top of his leap.

Timlin allowed the first two Rockies to reach base to start the seventh and was taken out in favour of Okajima.

Holliday blasted Okajima's first pitch 437 feet to dead center for a three-run homer that cut the lead to 6-5.

But an RBI-double by Ellsbury and two-run double by Dustin Pedroia in the eighth put Boston back in control.

Rookie second baseman Pedroia, Ellsbury, Matsuzaka and third baseman Mike Lowell all had two RBIs apiece for the Red Sox.

"We were hanging on for dear life," Francona said about holding off Colorado's late charge.