May 6th @ Cleveland

[YanksHater213]

too bad, embree in

[ACL BoSox]

w00t!

 

Back to back wins! Not to get too excited, the Red Sox are still a few fries short of a happy meal.

[Benny9Sox7]

Originally posted by Benny9Sox7@May 6 2004, 03:30 PM

tonight im lookin for manny and ortiz to come up big for the sox and pedro as well.... the best way for him to prove wat he is worth is to go out there start after start and bring wat hes got... im callin for a 5-2 win tonight for the sox.... win goes to pedro and idk bout a save cuz idk how foulkes back is

i cant believe i called the score, pedro wit the win and foulke wit the save kinda

[YanksHater213]

everyone hit tonight. millar (4hits), pokey (2 hits), bellhorn (2 hits)

[DuffyCliff]

Pedro has trouble in the 8th. Remember?

 

That is one instance... and it was at the very end of the season.

 

Pedro looked great tonight, should smooth things over a little bit. The added delay of his return (he's scheduled for Tuesday at Fenway) should let things cool even more.

 

I really don't see what booing him is going to accomplish.

[Benny9Sox7]

this is the team they have which will win them games with everyone contributing... im likeing it

[yeszir]

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Pedro Martinez couldn't complain about a thing.

 

Boston's ace dominated Cleveland again, settling in after a shaky start to pitch seven strong innings and lead the Red Sox to a 5-2 win over the Guardians on Thursday night.

 

Martinez (4-2) gave up four hits -- three in the first inning -- and improved to 11-1 in 15 career starts against the Guardians. He's also 6-0 at Jacobs Field.

 

Martinez made his second appearance since publicly criticizing Boston's front office, cutting off contract talks with the Red Sox and declaring he would explore free agency after the season.

 

The next day, he was hammered for six runs and nine hits in four innings during a loss to Texas. This one didn't start much better for the three-time Cy Young Award winner, who quickly fell behind 2-0 in the first.

 

But the Guardians did little after that, putting only five runners on base with just one getting to third. Martinez walked three and struck out eighth overall.

 

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With his 105th victory for Boston, Martinez moved into a tie with Lefty Grove for eighth place on the club's career wins list.

 

Manny Ramirez homered in the sixth off C.C. Sabathia (1-1) and Pokey Reese hit a go-ahead RBI double in the seventh as the Red Sox won their second straight to split the four-game series.

 

Kevin Millar had four hits for Boston, which went 2-5 on its trip to Texas and Cleveland.

 

Alan Embree pitched the eighth and Keith Foulke threw a perfect ninth for his sixth save in six chances.

 

Sabathia allowed four runs and eight hits in 6 2-3 innings. The left-hander didn't walk or strike out a batter.

 

Down 2-0, the Red Sox rallied with two runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh.

 

Reese's double capped an eight-pitch at-bat in which he fouled off two pitches with two strikes from Sabathia, who left a game trailing for the first time in five starts this season.

 

 

AP - May 6, 9:33 pm EDT

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Rick White came in and gave up a run-scoring double to Mark Bellhorn, putting Boston up 4-2.

 

Ramirez drove in another run with a single in the eighth.

 

He had tied it 2-2 in the sixth with his seventh homer, a two-out, opposite-field shot to right that made him 6-for-9 with three RBIs in his career against Sabathia.

 

Bellhorn opened the inning with a double and Gabe Kapler singled. Sabathia got David Ortiz to hit into a double play, but he didn't have the same luck with Ramirez, who had grounded out in his first two at-bats.

 

Martinez arrived in Boston's clubhouse about 2 1/2 hours before the first pitch, and immediately began joking with Ramirez.

 

``The baby is ready today,'' Ramirez said as he patted Martinez, who smiled from behind a pair of sunglasses. ``There is no cold weather, so he is good.''

 

Martinez wasn't so good early on.

 

Matt Lawton unloaded on the right-hander's first pitch, driving his sixth homer over the wall in straightaway center and denting a camera perched on the railing.

 

Omar Vizquel followed with a single and went to third on Jody Gerut's base hit. Victor Martinez's RBI groundout made it 2-0, but Martinez got out of theinning when Travis Hafner lined out and Gerut got doubled up at second.

 

Notes

 

Martinez has already allowed six homers in 43 2-3 innings this season, after giving up only seven in 186 2-3 innings last season. ... Ramirez is now tied with Lee May for 64th on the career homer list with 354. ... Lawton has led off the first with a homer six times in his career. ... Cleveland has hit24 homers -- 19 have been solo shots.

[RoyNHSox]

Originally posted by roary+May 6 2004, 06:39 PM-->

QUOTE (roary @ May 6 2004, 06:39 PM)

[DuffyCliff]

Red Sox.com Summary

 

http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/bo...recap&fext=.jsp

 

 

CLEVELAND -- Manny Ramirez was downright giddy with anticipation after spotting teammate Pedro Martinez saunter into the visitor's clubhouse on Thursday afternoon.

 

The ace had shades over his eyes and a big smile on his face as he strode toward Ramirez, wearing what looked like a brand-new suit.

 

"He's ready," Ramirez bellowed to a small gathering of reporters. "It's warm out, no excuses."

 

Then Ramirez cited Martinez's 10-1 career record against the Guardians as proof that the three-time Cy Young Award winner was going to make his previous start against the Rangers (four innings, nine hits and six runs) a distant memory.

 

Credit Ramirez for his prophetic confidence. His pal Martinez was indeed on top of his game, stifling the Guardians over seven strong innings, and leading the Red Sox to a 5-2 victory at Jacobs Field.

 

While Martinez has been erratic on cold nights this season, he had no such trouble on an evening the game-time temperature was 82 degrees.

 

Was it the soothing weather that led to Martinez being as crisp as he's been in any start this season?

 

"I don't know. It seems like it," said Martinez. "I just got lucky I think. I got lucky today."

 

The tone in Martinez's voice was biting with sarcasm as he attributed his performance to luck.

 

Perhaps he was irked that his Texas debacle -- which came on the heels of Martinez saying he would become a free agent at season's end -- was so heavily scrutinized in the passionate zone known as Red Sox Nation.

 

Whatever the case, Martinez was in complete control after giving up hits to the first three batters of the game, led by a leadoff homer by Matt Lawton.

 

"I think all my pitches were there," Martinez said. "It was just a matter of getting into a groove and getting settled."

 

Once he did that, the Guardians had no chance.

 

For just like the gleeful Ramirez all but guaranteed, Martinez continued his dominance against the Guardians, against whom he's now 6-0 with a 1.98 ERA at Jacobs Field.

 

Overall against Cleveland, Martinez is 11-1 with a 1.72 ERA.

 

Of course, the victory may not have been possible without Ramirez.

 

Guardians ace C.C. Sabathia was having a pretty good night of his own, until Ramirez unloaded on Sabathia's 1-2 pitch in the top of the sixth for a solo shot that tied the game at 2-2.

 

"C.C. threw a great game out there," Ramirez said. "He just made a mistake to me and I hit it."

 

From that point on, the Sox were in control, bringing positive closure to a 2-5 road trip.

 

"There will be some air to breathe on the plane," said Sox manager Terry Francona, who relaxed the troops with a pep talk following Tuesday's loss. "I guarantee they feel better."

 

Martinez sure looked better, running his record to 4-2, and lowering his ERA to 3.92.

 

Of his 93 pitches, 63 were for strikes. His eight strikeouts were a season-high.

 

"He found the cutter," Francona said. "He got comfortable with it. He about stayed with it and said, 'You're going to have to hit it.' And they really didn't."

 

There were offensive heroes as well. Pokey Reese, normally known for his defense, had a double and a triple while driving in the game-winning run.

 

Kevin Millar went 4-for-4. Steady Mark Bellhorn added two hits while subbing for Johnny Damon in the leadoff spot.

 

And the bullpen finished it off for Martinez. Power lefty Alan Embree worked a scoreless eighth. Closer Keith Foulke closed it out with his sixth save in as many opportunities.

 

All's well that ends well, right?

 

"We didn't bury ourselves," said Sox catcher Jason Varitek. "We found a way to come back and win these [last] two games."

 

Locked in a 2-2 tie, the Sox stole the momentum in the top of the seventh.

 

With two outs, Reese ripped an RBI double to center, scoring David McCarty from first.

 

"Big-time, that's big-time," Reese said of aiding Martinez. "He struggled early and I got the hit to put us up. That's big for my confidence right there."

 

That ended the night for Sabathia, who gave up eight hits and four earned runs over 6 2/3 innings.

 

The Sox got an insurance run, as Bellhorn's double to right off Gabe White scored Reese to make it 4-2.

 

The night couldn't have gotten off to a more inauspicious start for Martinez. His first pitch was deposited over the wall in center field by Cleveland leadoff man Matt Lawton.

 

"I felt pretty good from the get-go," Martinez said. "The first pitch of the game I was trying to throw a strike and Lawton happened to hit it out. I'll take my chances again over and over and over. I've thrown that throughout my career. Very few times have I given up home runs right on the first pitch."

 

The Guardians kept going, as Omar Vizquel and Jody Gerut followed with singles to put runners at the corners and still nobody out. Victor Martinez increased the lead to 2-0 with a grounder to second.

 

Varitek never had a doubt, even after the rocky start.

 

"It's all about his location," said Varitek. "I knew in that first inning, I just knew. He was fine, and that was it."

 

Martinez got a break when Travis Hafner lined to second, and Gerut was doubled off the bag to end the inning.

 

From that point forward, Martinez put on a clinic. Following Gerut's single in the first, he retired 18 of the next 20 batters he faced.

 

Martinez struck out the side in the fifth, capped by a 92 mph fastball to Lawton.

 

But Sabathia was perplexing the Sox just as much in the early innings.

 

In the top of the sixth, the Sox were at last able to do some damage. Bellhorn led off with a double to left and Gabe Kapler's single set up runners at the corners and nobody out.

 

The Sox broke Sabathia's shutout bid, but not in the fashion they hoped, as David Ortiz hit into a 4-6-3 double play to score Bellhorn.

 

But Ramirez stepped up next, and he walloped an off-speed pitch from Sabathia over the wall in right field for that game-tying solo shot.

 

For Ramirez, it was his seventh homer of the season.

 

As for predicting greatness from his teammate, Ramirez says there's no rocket science to that.

 

"He's the best pitcher in baseball," Ramirez said.

[YanksHater213]

UPDATED DIVISION STANDIGS

 

Team W L GB

Red Sox 17 11 -

Yankees 16 12 1.0

Orioles 13 12 2.0

Blue Jays 10 18 7.0

D-Rays 9 18 7.5

 

Keith Foulke ERA Watch- 0.53