Boston Red Sox co-owner Les Otten spent Wednesday morning working on his luck.

Like the players who have their own pre-game rituals, Otten only attends games wearing a particular shirt, a Brooks Brothers of white Oxford cloth.

“You do what works,” said Otten in a phone interview from his New York hotel. “I have been wearing this shirt all season.”

The magic worked.

The Red Sox postseason stayed alive for one more night Wednesday with the 9-6 win against the team’s arch enemy, the New York Yankees.

On Thursday night, they’ll play for the pennant.

It was all part of the plan, said Otten, the former owner of the Sugarloaf and Sunday River ski resorts.

On Wednesday night, the Red Sox bats came alive. Finally.

Shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, virtually hitless all series, hit four times, ending an abysmal 2 for 17 streak. He led the team towards its highest score yet against this post-season Yankee team.

“(General Manager) Theo Epstein built a team of sluggers,” said Otten before the game, faithful that the bats would erupt. “We’re not playing small ball. We’re trying to hit home runs.

“Hitting gets cold sometimes,” he said. But it returns.

Before the Wednesday night victory, Otten read the team’s itinerary – when they’d leave their hotel, when they’d have batting practices. There were times and plans for every move, for a game six and a game seven.

“It’s doesn’t say anything about what happens if they lose,” he said.

dhartill@sunjournal.com

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