Winslow Townson, Associated Press Red Sox pitcher Curtis Leskanic sits on the mound after Yankees Hideki Matsui doubled to left field in the fourth inning of Game 3 of the ALCS in Boston. Click photo for larger image. Series Coverage: ALCS Notebook: Schilling's status as wobbly as ankle POSTSEASON SCORECARD YESTERDAY NLCS: Astros 5, Cardinals 2 (Cardinals lead series 2-0) ALCS: Yankees 19, Red Sox 8 (Yankees lead series 3-0 series) TODAY NLCS: Cardinals (Jason Marquis 0-0) at Astros (Roy Oswalt 1-0); 4:35 p.m. TV: WPGH ALCS: Yankees (Orlando Hernandez 0-0)at Red Sox (Derek Lowe 1-0); 8:15 p.m. TV: WPGH

BOSTON -- When Fenway Park opened in 1912, the Boston Red Sox shared space on the front pages with the sinking of the Titanic.

There was a swamping of a much different sort last night, involving not the loss of life or an unsinkable ship that struck an iceberg but of a disconsolate franchise taking on water again after plowing into their archrivals.

The 19-8 beating at the hands of the New York Yankees last night dropped the Red Sox into a 3-0 hole in the American League Championship Series, and no baseball team has rebounded from such a deficit to win a seven-game series. Expecting the Red Sox to be the first, given that they're burdened with the sad baggage of having gone 86 years without a World Series title, would seem outlandish.

And to think, the Red Sox actually busted out of their offensive doldrums with eight runs and 14 hits. They even had the first lead of the series, although it disappeared for good in the next half-inning.

Forget the "Who's your daddy?" questions. This was more like the mother of all debacles.

The 19 runs by the Yankees were the most in a league championship series. Ditto for the combined runs. In fact, the two teams tied the mark for most combined runs at 19 in the top of the fifth inning, before it was an official game.

The Yankees also banged out 22 hits, a record for a league championship series.

They had stars through the lineup. Hideki Matsui had five hits, including a two home runs, and scored five runs while driving in five. Alex Rodriguez scored five runs while hitting a home run and doubling twice. Gary Sheffield, who homered, also doubled and singled.

The eight doubles by the Yankees had never been done in a league championship series. The number tied a postseason mark that was shared by the Pirates, who had eight doubles against the Washington Senators in the 1925 World Series.

The drubbing even had reverberations into tonight. Tim Wakefield, who was supposed to start Game 4, was pressed into service as a reliever and was roughed up for five runs, leaving Boston's pitching plans in a shambles. Derek Lowe is expected to start.

The Red Sox came into this game with their backs to the Green Monster. Of the 61 teams who had fallen into a 0-2 hole, only 12 had rallied to win a seven-game series.

They had been heartened that the series had moved to Fenway, where every member of their lineup has a higher batting average than on the road. Runs come in bunches here, so much that Derek Jeter described it as "arena baseball." Or as Yankees manager Joe Torre put it: "You're in scoring position at any place, even in the batter's box, here. You've really got to be on your toes here because the ball bounces funny."

It bounces especially funny when both starting pitchers, Kevin Brown and Bronson Arroyo, get 12 outs combined. The game was such a slugfest that it took an exhausting 2 hours, 21 minutes to complete four innings. It ended up the longest nine-inning game in postseason history, lasting 4:20.

A billboard in center field implores Red Sox fans to "Keep The Faith" early on. But the Yankees stunned the Fenway faithful with a three-run first inning that included a howitzer of a home run by Matsui. In three games thus far, the Yankees scored six runs in the opening inning to none for the Red Sox.

Anemic offense in the first six innings of the first two games had shackled the Red Sox. They had all of one hit and no runs in innings one through six but managed to double that output in the first last night. The trouble was, Manny Ramirez tried to go from first to third on a single to right by David Ortiz. He was called out on a close play following a strong throw from Sheffield.

Finally, the Red Sox broke through in the second with a bunch of series firsts, including the first hit by Damon and the first lead. Trot Nixon's two-run home run, which followed a walk to Jason Varitek, revived the crowd. And, after Bill Mueller doubled down the right-field line, Johnny Damon got his first hit. It caromed off John Olerud's mitt at first base to tie the score. The Red Sox later took the lead on Jeter's error.

The lead evaporated when Rodriguez hit a towering home run over the Monster leading off the top of the third. A walk and a double to right by Matsui finished Arroyo. And, with Ramiro Mendoza on in relief, Williams singled home a run. The go-ahead run was waved home when Mendoza was called for a balk.

The Red Sox rallied again in their half of the inning. Orlando Cabrera doubled with the bases loaded to get to within a run. But Bill Mueller, running just steps behind Kevin Millar, was thrown out at the plate trying to score. The Yankees outscored them, 11-2, from that point.

By the end, the hometown crowd of 35,126 had turned on the Red Sox. The loudest boos rained down on Mark Bellhorn, who struck out four times to earn the proverbial golden sombrero.

Playoff games at Yankee Stadium draw all sorts of celebrities, from Billy Crystal to Donald Trump to Jack Nicholson. Boston's top celebrity at last night's game might have been Stephen King, master of the horror novel. Even he could not have come up with a scarier scenario for the Red Sox.

Robert Dvorchak can be reached at bdvorchak@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1959.