BOSTON — Just when Yankees fans thought it was safe to gloat, even a tiny bit . . .

Wowza!

No matter what happens in the rest of this American League Championship Series — and the bet here is that the Rays will shake this off and prevail on Saturday night — this will go down as one of the most incredible games in Red Sox history.

What character. What resilience. What execution.

Or, as Red Sox manager Terry Francona said, "That was pretty magical."

The Red Sox's season did not end on Thursday night at Fenway Park because they stared down a seven-run deficit with seven outs to go. When J.D. Drew launched a line drive over Gabe Gross' head in the bottom of the ninth, the Sawx had themselves a mind-blowing 8-7 victory in Game 5.

At the same time, the Red Sox appeared superhuman, mounting the greatest come-from-behind victory in LCS history — and the best postseason turnaround since the Philadelphia A's wiped out an eight-run deficit in Game 4 of the 1929 World Series (thanks, Elias Sports Bureau) — while the Rays looked all too human, committing errors of the physical and mental variety.

Boston still trails three games to two, but if any team is accustomed to this sort of adversity, it is these Red Sox. Ailing postseason ace Josh Beckett takes the ball in Saturday night's Game 6 at Tropicana Field.

"We've been here before," David Ortiz told TBS' Craig Sager moments after the victory, recalling what the players discussed before the game. "Let's try to do it again. The game is not over until it's over."

Now they're stealing Yogi Berra's shtick!

Of course they've been living Yogi's mantra for a while now, from down 3-0 to the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS to down 3-1 to Cleveland in last year's league finals. And they reported to work Thursday trailing these upstart Rays 3-1.

Yet they raised the degree of difficulty all the more Thursday night. This game, this series, was over. With former Mets prodigy Scott Kazmir on the mound and with Carlos Pena and superstar kids B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria going deep off Boston starter Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Rays were running the Red Sox out of their own ballpark. Embarrassing them, really.

Francona called for closer Jonathan Papelbon in the seventh, and Papelbon immediately surrendered a two-run double to Upton to make it a 7-0 game as surrender filled the air. The fans headed for the exits.

If you'll remember, however, Francona went to closer Keith Foulke in the seventh inning of the 2004 ALCS's Game 4. And the Sox's revival occurred shortly after. This time, powerful Australian Grant Balfour relieved Kazmir in the bottom of the seventh. With runners on first and third and two out, Dustin Pedroia's single drove in Jed Lowrie to end the Tampa Bay shutout. Then Big Papi ended his postseason drought with his three-run blast to rightfield, pulling the home team within 7-4, and we suddenly had a game again.

Joe Maddon said he didn't consider lifting the righty Balfour for a lefty to go after Ortiz. "Grant has been very good in that situation, actually," Maddon said.

Former Met Dan Wheeler allowed the three tying runs in the eighth, including a two-run blast by Drew and a two-out RBI single by Coco Crisp, and only Maddon knows why he let Wheeler stick around after that Drew homer when the Rays still had a 7-6 lead.

"I felt good about Dan," the Rays' skipper said. "He was going to go as far as I thought he could, and then we had J.P. (Howell) and Chad (Bradford) behind him."

It was Howell who picked up the first two outs of the ninth before inducing a grounder by Kevin Youkilis. Longoria scooped it up but bounced his throw to Pena, and Youkilis was on second. After an intentional walk to Jason Bay, Drew delivered his game-ender. Those who stuck around saw an all-time rally.

"I've never seen a group so happy to get on a plane at 1:30 in the morning in my life," a gleeful Francona said.

We'll see what happens from here. But really, what we've already seen, what might turn out to be the last 2008 game at Fenway, was a masterpiece in its own right.