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THE "IDIOTS" REVERSE THE CURSE
The Red Sox silence the Indians
May 6, 2004 ... Pedro
Martinez needed a little extra time to find his groove as his first pitch disappeared over the center-field wall courtesy of Matt Lawton, who entered the game batting .071 (1 for 14) against him. The next two Indians singled, leading to another run, as Manny Ramirez, the designated hitter, appeared a bit puzzled watching from
the dugout.
But soon the Sox were rolling. With Martinez holding the next 24 batters scoreless through the seventh and Ramirez contributing to a dandy comeback, the Sox stunned the Indians and their ace, C.C. Sabathia, 5-2, before 26,825 at Jacobs Field. The victory allowed the Sox to split the series, protect their
share of first place in the East, and return home 2-5 from a disastrous start to their seven-game swing through Texas and Cleveland.
Martinez ultimately outdueled Sabathia, allowing only one hit and three walks after the first three batters nicked him. He improved to 4-2 with a 3.91 ERA thanks in large measure to Ramirez and Co. Ramirez homered and singled to knock in two runs in his early run toward the MVP award. His solo shot off
Sabathia in the sixth inning tied the game after Mark Bellhorn doubled, moved to third on Gabe Kapler's single, and scored the first Sox run when David Ortiz grounded into a double play.
With the score deadlocked in the seventh, 2-2, Pokey Reese doubled in the go-ahead run before Bellhorn doubled home Reese to stake Martinez to a 4-2 lead. Ramirez's single in the eighth provided Boston's final run. Kevin Millar finished the road trip in sensational fashion, keeping pressure on Sabathia and
the Cleveland pen by banging out four hits, the first four-hit game of his career. Millar hit .556 (10 for 18) on the trip.
Martinez also received an assist from the Sox pen, which continued its remarkable early run. After Alan Embree pitched a scoreless eighth, Keith Foulke worked the ninth to nail down his sixth save in as many tries. The Sox pen pitched 11 scoreless innings in the four-game series against the Indians. |
