Angels 2, Red Sox 0.

Final Score of Game Two: Angels 4, Red Sox 1.

As important as winning game one on Thursday night was to the Angels, winning game two on Friday, against Josh Beckett, was double that. No, triple that. OK, quadruple that. We had to win game two. Just had to. Going away, into game three up 2-0 in a best-of-5 series is eons different than going into game three all square at 1-1. The confidence, the motivation, the excitement, the optimism, everything just seems to work in your favor when you're up 2-0.

The list of teams who have come back from a game one loss to win a five-game series is relatively long. The list of teams who've come back from an 0-2 deficit to win a five-game series is much shorter. Four, to be exact.

Winning the first game of this '09 ALDS got the nagging postseason monkey off our back. We had finally beaten the Red Sox in October. Our celebrated starting pitching finally showed up when needed and stifled a once potent line-up to the tune of four hits and zero runs. Our emotionally-jacked, indispensable center fielder came through with the clutch hit we'd been missing since 2002. And our bullpen didn't surrender the five-run lead, which, isn't always a given. Yep, game one had everything you could ask for in a postseason victory. The theatrics, the pitching, the atmosphere, the timely hitting, everything. But we didn't come this far just to prove we could win one lousy game against the Red Sox. That'd be preposterous.

Well, with game one in the rearview mirror, last night's contest would ultimately be the defining game of this series. Either we'd be heading into Boston with a seemingly-insurmountable 2-0 series lead, or we'd be landing in Boston demoralized with a two-game, home split. In other words, either we were going to put the Red Sox out of their misery in Boston, or come back to Anaheim for an electrifying game five.

The emotional contrast between the two scenarios cannot be downplayed here. At all. Not with this specific Angels team. And certainly not with these more-than-capable opponents. Had we lost game two and left Southern California tied 1-1, the collective optimism in the clubhouse would certainly be bleak. At least for the time being. The overall sentiment on the cross-country plane ride to Massachusetts would be as low as that of a DMV walk-in line. Or a WNBA game. Something bad like that.

(What do I mean? Well, you can only predict everyone on the team [following a crushing game 2 loss] would begin questioning their current situations and contracts while secretly planning for the imminent offseason. Figgins would suddenly realize he's being extremely underpaid and hire super agent Scott Boras immediately leading to a "Jon and Kate" like separation from the Angels. Vlad would finally realize what every Angels fan realized half way through the season, that he's in the twilight of his career, his body's breaking down, he swings at too many bad pitches in big spots, and would probably be best served finding some real estate in New York or Boston. Napoli would start devising ways to "Nancy Kerrigan" Jeff Mathis in Spring Training to get his rightful amount of playing time. Lackey would start envisioning a life in pinstripes. Howie would finally see how hilariously bad all the "Howard's TV and Appliances" commercials are. Ron Roenicke would be polishing his resume for the Washington Nationals managerial position. And Scioscia would be trying to figure out which player let one rip in the clubhouse the night before.

Everything would be all screwy. It just wouldn't be a team, at that point. It'd be a collection of individuals. Self-served players forced together by a common job. Like the Yankees.)

Instead, we're heading to Boston up two games to nil with a plane full of guys who are hell bent on sweeping the Sox in Fenway - offseason issues on the backburner. Quite a difference.

Last night's victory all but assured us a berth in the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2004. Our pitching over the last two games has been dominant. Simply, dominant. LeBron James 2007 Game Five Eastern Conference Finals dominant. They say pitching, much like defense, wins come playoff time, well, we finally have some. Finally.

Thursday, Lackey's 4-hit gem guaranteed him the huge paycheck he's sought for the last two years (whether it's from the Angels or someone else, we'll just have to stay tuned). Friday, Weaver one upped Big John, tossing a two-hit, diamond of a game. TWO HITS!!! Boston scored the third most runs of any team this season and Weaver held them to two hits and one run. There's nothing fluky about those mind-boggling numbers. Those are solid, big game numbers reserved for the greatest pitchers to ever play in October. And we had back-to-back mind-blowing performances. Remarkable.

Now, as the series shifts to Boston, everybody has all but predicted an Angels sweep. In prior seasons, I'd be throwing my remote through the TV and searching for a mammoth sequoia to knock on. But not this year. Not with this team. From Opening Day, this season has just felt different. There's no panic with this team. Led by future manager Torii Hunter and a slew of pesky, undervalued speedsters who routinely reek havoc on opposing pitchers, we've been able to avoid the huge, demoralizing letdown all season.

Then again, is that a good thing or a bad thing? We'll have to wait and see.