Form very nearly held, as the Sox scored twice in the ninth before succumbing, 6-4, leaving them with a 3-3 split of this six-game homestand as they begin a stretch of seven consecutive games on artificial turf, four in Toronto and three in Tampa.
"We were right there," Sox first baseman Kevin Millar said after the Indians won the rubber game of their three-game set, "and just didn't get it done. But we had the tying run at the plate."
That would be second baseman Mark Bellhorn, after the Sox had scored twice off Indians closer Rafael Betancourt on doubles by Bill Mueller and pinch hitter Brian Daubach, and a bleeder up the middle by Johnny Damon that neither shortstop Omar Vizquel nor second baseman Ronnie Belliard offered at.
"They miscommunicated," Indians manager Eric Wedge said.
But Betancourt had the final say, as Bellhorn struck out for the third time and 40th time this season, most in the majors, and in only 113 at-bats.
"Any time you see a lot of pitches and go deep in the count, you're going to strike out some," said Bellhorn, who also has walked a league-leading 29 times. "But I wasn't looking for a walk there. In that situation, you definitely want to hit. I was looking for my pitch, but Betancourt pitched me pretty tough."
Despite a four-run advantage the Indians had built against knuckleballer Tim Wakefield through the first six innings, there was still the thought the Sox were merely positioning themselves for another comeback. No one on the home side was disappointed when Cleveland lefthander Cliff Lee was lifted after six innings, having allowed only a run in the first on Manny Ramirez's two-out double and another in the sixth on doubles by Kevin Millar and Doug Mirabelli.
