ATTLEBORO - The 25-year-old Attleboro lawyer was one of the few who believed the Sox could win it all when the team was down three games back in 2004, before the team rallied to fight back and win the World Series for the first time in more than eight decades.

Still, even Barnes was surprised Saturday night to see J.D. Drew and Eric Gagne - who just hours before would have come in near the bottom of a fan-favorite poll - elicit cheers from a crowd of Sox fans at North Attleboro's Box Seats restaurant as they hit a grand slam and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning, respectively.

Laughing, Barnes said, "I think the happiest moment of the night was when J.D. Drew hit it out, and everyone said, 'Oh yeah, I knew he could do it. I was backing him all along!' "

It was that kind of a night for Sox fans, as they watched their team batter the Cleveland Indians for a second night in a row to force a seventh - and deciding - playoff game tonight that will send the winner on to the World Series.

Beer and optimism were flowing in equal measure at Box Seats. Sox fans who were despairing a few days ago now spoke with a confidence bordering on nonchalance about their team's chances. Sitting next to Barnes was his friend Adam Andolfo, 26, a Rhode Island native and a third-generation Yankees fan. Even Andolfo admitted that the Sox looked pretty good.

"I think the Sox'll win," he said, after a long pause. "They're a good team."

"Good enough to win the East," added Barnes, grinning - a not-so-subtle reminder that the Sox had bested the Yankees and won the American League East this year for the first time in over a decade.

Sitting with the pair was Brian Prochet, 24, an Army National Guard first lieutenant who returned just a few weeks ago from a 12-month tour of duty in Iraq. He caught as many games as he could on the American Forces Network while he was serving overseas.

"It was nice coming back here and they were in the playoffs," Prochet said. "I was pretty confident (they would) with the season they had," he added.

Seated at a table not far from the trio was Brendan Nelson, 23, who recently moved to the area from outside Pittsburgh, where he grew up.

Nelson wanted the Sox to win, but not for the same reason as most people at Box Seats on Saturday.

"I'm not rooting for Boston, I'm rooting against Cleveland," he said, which gave the Indians the questionable distinction of being the Yankees of the Midwest.

One of Nelson's friends, Attleboro resident Dan Grenier, 22, finished an analysis of the Red Sox's prospects with a nod to the other talented local team playing tomorrow.

"And even if they don't win," he said, "Randy Moss is looking pretty good."