The last time Tim Wakefield left the Fenway Park pitcher's mound, he didn't know if he had just pushed the Red Sox off the edge and into a playoff-less fall.

The eventual wild card winners recovered from the knuckleballer's awful outing against the New York Yankees last Saturday, and now the Red Sox will look to the 39-year-old to postpone their offseason a bit longer.

When Wakefield hits the mound tonight in an attempt to stave off elimination in Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the Chicago White Sox, he'll take with him both his unpredictable specialty pitch and eons of experience pitching with the season on the line.

As far back as his rookie season of 1992, Wakefield was thrown into the fire to help the Pittsburgh Pirates force a Game 7 in the NLCS. Since donning a cap with a `B' on it, Wakefield was the winner in relief in Game 5 of last year's American League Championship Series. He's also been on the wrong side of the situation, losing in ALDS Game 3 in 1995 and in relief in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS.

"Being in the postseason with this team, being in the situation before, I think everybody in the clubhouse knows how we have to play (today)," Wakefield said. "I think everybody's ready. I know I am. I'm going to go out there (today) and do the best that I can."

Saturday's five-inning, seven-run, seven-hit performance against the Bronx Bombers would have made for a terrible season-ender had it been Wakefield's last start. Wakefield, 16-12 with a 4.15 ERA in the regular season, now has a chance to extend the season further.

"You know, he's been so outstanding for us this year," manager Terry Francona said. "We got put in a little bit of a bind last week. We had to (have him) come back on a short rest, and it didn't work out real well. We fully expect that to change."

During the regular season, Wakefield compiled a 1-1 record and 6.57 ERA vs. Chicago.

"Playing them during the regular season, they've hit the ball very well against us," Wakefield said. "We just have to stay aggressive."