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June 22, 2005 ... Just about each member of the Red Sox who needed a reason to feel good about himself today had just that. Keith Foulke won (he's 5-3). Alan Embree inherited a bases-loaded situation in the sixth inning and escaped unscored upon (he fanned a batter looking, then induced a double play, all in six pitches). Underused and unhappy outfielder Jay Payton scored the deciding run in the ninth inning (he lined a leadoff double to the wall, advanced with some intelligent base running, and scored on an Edgar Renteria double). Wade Miller allowed only one earned run over five-plus innings and came away saying, With tonight's 5-4 decision despite deficits of 1-0 (after two innings), 2-1 (after six innings), and 4-2 (after seven innings) the Sox reeled off their ninth win in 10 games and swept the Indians, who'd won nine in a row before Boston stormed into town. The Sox outscored the Indians, 24-15, outhit them, 36-33, and out-homered them, 8-2, in sweeping Cleveland at Jacobs Field for the first time since May 28-30, 1999. It looked losable in the sixth, when Miller found himself in a severe bind. Miller began the inning by walking Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez, the latter on a full-count pitch. Ben Broussard then singled, and Casey Blake worked Miller to 2 and 2. Blake singled on the 3-and-2 pitch, plating Hafner and giving the Indians a 2-1 lead. Francona motioned for Embree, who pitched for the fourth time in five days, and who gave up a 434-foot homer here Monday night, was greeted by a pinch hitter, Jose Hernandez. He saw three pitches, all strikes, and, evidently, was just looking, thank you. He sat down after Embree painted the outer corner with a fastball at 89 miles per hour. Jhonny Peralta, the No. 9 hitter, followed and bounced to Renteria, who began an inning-ending double play. No one was more pumped in the Sox dugout than Miller. Miller was tagged with only one run the other was unearned. He touched 93 miles per hour, gave up only six hits, and pitched out of a two-on, one-out jam in the second with consecutive strikeouts looking. Miller left trailing, 2-1, as Renteria had supplied the only run, a third-inning homer, his sixth. But John Olerud, starting at first base, homered off lefthander Cliff Lee to lead off the next inning, sending a ball 406 feet to dead center with that effortless swing. But, down 4-2, the Renteria/Olerud show continued. Olerud, against lefthander Arthur Rhodes, singled in a run with two outs in the eighth. Bill Mueller, also off Rhodes, singled in the tying run on a full-count, two-out, 94-m.p.h. fastball away. And in the ninth, after Payton reached to lead off the inning, Renteria laced a double to the wall in left-center, sore wrist and all. Foulke, who'd labored in the eighth, went 1-2-3 in the ninth on just eight pitches. |
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