DAVE NEWHAN

THE "IDIOTS" REVERSE THE CURSE
The Sox bumble the game away

July 21, 2004 ...  With their middle infield badly depleted, the Red Sox last night had little choice but to tap Mark Bellhorn to play shortstop and Bill Mueller to play second base, each for the first time this season. The bullpen was all but spent. And the water-treading Sox sorely needed a victory.  In a crazy game that started splendidly and ended miserably for Pedro Martinez, he succumbed to some timely hitting by the O's and some wacky defensive twists in the Sox outfield in a 10-5 defeat before 35,023 in the opener of a six-game homestand at Fenway Park.

Not so fast. The loss not only turned on a particularly rough night for center fielder Johnny Damon but on the inability of the Sox to flash the trademark resiliency they rode last year to the playoffs. Damon's ordeal included letting Miguel Tejada's line drive whistle past him in the fourth inning for a two-run triple and figuring in a bizarre defensive sequence in the seventh inning that enabled David Newhan's two-run, inside-the-park homer, which effectively put the game out of reach.

Damon had little help on Newhan's drive as left fielder Manny Ramirez inexplicably cut off Damon's relay to Bellhorn, giving Newhan extra time to round the bases. Ramirez fired the ball to Bellhorn, whose throw to the plate arrived far too late, allowing the Orioles to seize an 8-4 lead.

MANNY RAMIREZ

Martinez was far from sharp, despite retiring the first 10 batters, six on strikes. In all, he surrendered eight runs on nine hits and a walk over 6 2/3 innings, spoiling his bid for his seventh win in as many decisions as he dropped to 10-4 with a 4.01 ERA. The O's, who scored their final two runs in the ninth inning off lefthander Jimmy Anderson, have feasted on Martinez this season at Fenway, thumping him for 15 earned runs over 11 2/3 innings in two games. Martinez has logged an 11.57 ERA against the Orioles this year at Fenway and a 2.06 ERA there against everyone else. Tejada did the most damage, knocking in four runs against Martinez and five all told. But Newhan was pretty nasty himself, pounding out four hits, including the first inside-the-parker by an Oriole at Fenway since Paul Blair in 1973, and scoring four runs.

The first five batters in the Sox order managed only one hit, an infield single by Bellhorn in the first inning, as they went 1 for 19 and played a major role in the defeat. The struggle was highly unusual for the Sox, who entered the game having outscored their opponents at home by 70 runs (282-212), the largest margin in the majors.

A critical shortage of middle infielders prompted the Red Sox last night to dramatically realign their defense and acquire journeyman shortstop Ricky Gutierrez. The moves became necessary when second baseman Pokey Reese landed on the 15-day disabled list with a mild strain of his right oblique. 

Opting for youthful promise over veteran experience, the Sox appeared poised to summon Double A Portland lefthander Abe Alvarez to start the opener of the doubleheader. The other pitcher under consideration was Pawtucket righthander Frank Castillo, though Epstein left open the remote possibility he could acquire a starter from outside the organization to fill the role.

The Sox eagerly await the return of Scott Williamson, who has been one of the league's most dominant relievers when he has been healthy. Williamson, who has missed 37 games during two stints on the DL for elbow woes, threw hard off a bullpen mound for the first time since he last pitched June 30 in New York. He said he felt fine.

Television analyst Jerry Remy's reach expanded as the Sox opened "RemDawg's" on Yawkey Way. 

The Cape Cod Baseball League All-Stars were honored before the game.