Former Red Sox World Series Hero Recalls Historic 2004 Championship Run

More than 20 years after throwing his last pitch for the Boston Red Sox, Derek Lowe is still one of the most important players in team history.

Not because of the two All-Star teams he made or the no-hitter he threw at Fenway Park, but because of the three playoff games he won for them in the fall of 2004.

Lowe won the clinching games of the 2004 ALDS, ALCS and World Series, helping the Red Sox end their 86-year championship drought.

The 52-year-old, who retired in 2013, recently caught up with PFSN’s Alex Kennedy and discussed his pivotal role on one of the famous teams in baseball history.

I caught up with Red Sox legend Derek Lowe to talk about breaking the curse, the 0-3 comeback against New York, Boston’s passionate fan base, today’s MLB pitchers, his brief stint with the Yankees, competing in the @ACChampionship, and more. Q&A: https://t.co/p8NvCXRst3

— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) July 11, 2025

When asked about the key to Boston’s historic comeback from a 3-0 deficit against the New York Yankees in the ALCS, Lowe attributed it to better pitching and the clutch heroics of David Ortiz.

“We started pitching a little better, I think. I want to say New York started swinging at pitches that they weren’t normally swinging at the first three games — they looked a little more impatient.”

After scoring 29 runs on 43 hits over the first three games, the Yankees managed just 13 runs on 35 hits over the final four games as their lineup went cold.

Lowe played a huge part in that, tossing six innings of one-run ball in Game 7 at Yankee Stadium on just two days’ rest. The Red Sox also won his Game 4 start, and he finished the ALCS with a 3.18 ERA against one of the best offenses in baseball.

Boston went on to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in the Fall Classic, with Lowe delivering seven shutout innings in Game 4. He finished the postseason with a 3-0 record, a 1.86 ERA and a 0.72 WHIP in 19 1/3 innings.

Lowe signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency a few months later, ending his eight-year run with the Red Sox. He later pitched briefly for the Yankees in 2012, but he moved back to New England and still remembers his time with Boston fondly.

“It was just an amazing time,” said Lowe, who was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2018. “It was a great team. It was a great comeback. I loved playing there for eight years.”