Williamson also went 2-0 in the first round against the Athletics, appearing in all five games and pitching five scoreless innings.
Setup man Mike Timlin also is on a roll. He pitched a scoreless eighth Wednesday and has not allowed a run in 8 1-3 innings spanning seven appearances this postseason. He's struck out 10.
Alan Embree pitched 1 2-3 scoreless innings for the first postseason win of his career, and five Red Sox relievers combined to give up just one run over 5 1-3 innings in Game 6.
That means the much-maligned Boston bullpen has permitted only two runs in 27 2-3 innings during the ALCS for an 0.81 ERA.
Andy Pettitte gave up four runs on eight hits in five innings for the Yankees, striking out five and walking two. He allowed all of his runs in the third inning as the Red Sox sent eight batters to the plate before Bill Mueller grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Pettitte had won six straight starts dating to the regular season and five ALCS starts in a row. This was his third chance to clinch a pennant for the Yankees: He won Game 5 at Baltimore in 1996 and against Seattle in 2001. The left-hander was roughed up, however, in the sixth game of the 2001 World Series at Arizona when the Yankees had a 3-2 lead. New York lost the seventh game as well.
John Burkett lasted just 3 2-3 innings for Boston and allowed seven hits and five runs - three earned. He was lifted by manager Grady Little as the Yankees scored four times in the fourth to take a 5-4 lead. The right-hander, 0-6 against New York in the regular season, threw 60 pitches, 38 for strikes.
Game 7 will be the 26th meeting of the season between Boston and New York, setting a major league record for any two teams.
Before this year, the last teams to play 25 times in one season were the 1953 Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Athletics, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, baseball's statistician. In addition to their 22 regularly scheduled meetings that year, they replayed three tie games.
Roger Clemens will try to seal the deal against Pedro Martinez tonight at 7:00 central. This is a can't-miss game as Roger and Pedro were on the mound during the fireworks earlier in this series.
Roger Clemens
Clemens will take the mound with one thing in mind -- extending his career for one more week. The Rocket will have to win or go home -- forever -- as he plans to retire after the season. Clemens won Game 3 of the series, allowing two runs over six innings in the Yankees' 4-3 win at Fenway Park. Clemens is 8-6 in his postseason career.
Pedro Martinez
Martinez hopes to rebound from his Game 3 performance, when he gave up four runs in seven innings and took a 4-3 loss to Roger Clemens. Martinez has not been spectacular this postseason. In three starts, he is 1-1 with a 4.29 ERA. Martinez has gone seven innings in all three of those starts, giving up 19 hits over 21 innings and registering 15 strikeouts. In the final month of the regular season, Martinez went 4-0 with an 0.72 ERA. In four starts against the Yankees, he was 1-1 with a 3.80 ERA. In a do-or-die game, the Sox always feel good about their chances with Martinez. Both times he's been in that situation in his years with the Red Sox, he was the winning pitcher, most recently in Game 5 of the Division Series against Oakland.