ST. LOUIS (AP) – Get ready, Boston. There’s no other outcome now: Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez and the Red Sox will either win the World Series or add another historic collapse to their legend.

They’ll either reverse The Curse that’s plagued the team since 1918 or they’ll fall apart, just as they did the last four times they got this close.

Martinez made his long-awaited Series debut a special one, bailed out when Ramirez and David Ortiz did as much damage with their arms as bats. Backed by the surprising show of defense, Boston cruised past St. Louis 4-1 Tuesday night for a 3-0 lead and left a crowd that loves its Cardinals booing the home team.

Until this October, it was considered almost impossible for any baseball team to recover from such a deficit in the postseason. No one had ever done it – that is, until the Red Sox bounced back to stun New York in the AL championship series.

And now, after being only three outs away from getting swept last week, Boston is on the verge of sweeping the club that led the majors in wins this year and claiming the ultimate prize.

Derek Lowe will try to finish it off Wednesday night, with Jason Marquis starting Game 4 for St. Louis.

Pitching a day after his 33rd birthday, Martinez threw seven innings of shutout ball, holding the limp Cardinals to three hits and retiring his final 14 batters.

Ramirez put Martinez ahead with a first-inning homer and the three-time Cy Young winner held it, helped by superb defense and shaky baserunning. Added up, the Red Sox set a team record with their seventh straight postseason win, bettering the streak of six capped off by Babe Ruth’s win in the 1916 Series.

AP-ES-10-26-04 2335EDT