MLB

COCKY BOSOX HAVE YANKEES ON THEIR RADAR

BOSTON – The Red Sox put the Yankees on notice last night. This is 2004 all over again, and the road to the World Series runs right down Yawkey Way.

This was a night where the Red Sox simply Becketted and bashed their way past the Angels, 4-0, at Fenway, getting a four-hit shutout from Josh Beckett and yet another postseason home run from David Ortiz, the ninth of his career.

The Yankees have their own World Series nightmares of Beckett, dating back to 2003 and the Marlins. He is a horse the Red Sox will ride this October.

“This kind of reminded me of what he did against the Yankees,” said veteran shortstop Royce Clayton.

Added center fielder Coco Crisp, “That was big tonight. It’s big to get the first of anything, the first run, the first hit, the first win, it makes your day a lot easier.”

Two more wins and the first series is complete for the Red Sox. This win reminded everyone that the Red Sox were the hottest team in baseball early in the year.

Mike Lowell put it best. “We did what we wanted to do,” he said.

They want to make up for last year’s Lost Season. “We look back to [last year] and say we never want to be in that situation again where we go home,” said Kevin Youkilis, who got the Sawx started with a first-inning homer. “How great is that to keep playing in October.”

The Red Sox are ready and waiting for Joe Torre’s club. On Monday they held a rally in town, but it was more like a victory parade. The Red Sox are one confident team. They have every right to be thinking they are headed to the World Series.

The Angels are the competition only for the moment. All eyes are looking to the Yankees and another ALCS showdown. This first game of the division series felt more like the last game of spring training.

“There’s no way the Angels can beat the Red Sox,” noted one scout before the first pitch was thrown. “They don’t have enough offense.”

Scott Boras is smiling. This was a night where Alex Rodriguez’ bargaining power with the Angels rose as high as the Monster seats, where Youkilis’ homer landed.

This is the year the Yankees should have played the Angels. Vlad Guerrero is aching. John Lackey is lacking and Gary Matthews Jr. is out of the picture.

Beckett dominated, retiring 19 straight along the way. The Angels have lost seven straight playoff games to the Red Sox, being outscored 54-23.

“The East is tough,” said Angels owner Arte Moreno.

In the last 26 innings pitched against the Red Sox, Lackey and Game 3 starter Jered Weaver have allowed 21 runs. Lackey is 1-7 lifetime against Boston.

The Red Sox had the best record in baseball and they’ve had to overcome injury issues. The lineup that they started last night marked just the second time all season Terry Francona has been able to put that group together.

“It’s the kind of lineup we’ve been shooting for for a while and haven’t been able to get to,” he said.

In other words, things are coming together, just in time for the Yankees, provided the Yankees hold up their end of the bargain and beat the Indians.

The Red Sox aren’t even going to bother to practice today. They need to save their energy for the ALCS, the real showdown.

Tomorrow the Angels will be seeing Daisuke Matsuzaka for the first time. Dice-K has a history of rising to the occasion in big games, going back to his high school days.

Matsuzaka knows this is no regular-season game, and his approach will be different. Dice-K loves the Big Stage. So do the Red Sox. They can’t wait to be on it with the Yankees.

kevin.kernan@nypost.com