Long, short of it

The ball didn't appear gone off the bat, but it was hurrying, and it climbed and arched and faded to Black. Mark Black, that is. The Seattle man seated 405 feet from home plate came up with the ball and returned it to the 32-year-old Sox left fielder for a simple bounty -- a signed 34-inch, 34-ounce maple bat, and a signed baseball.

''Probably put it on eBay," Ramirez said. ''See how much I could get. Probably $200."

No. 500 figures to be worth even more, though Ramirez, when asked about his healthy chance of hitting 500, said, ''No, my train already stopped."

Ramirez's lined shot pulled the Sox within 5-4, but that would be it. Boston never could overcome the Seattle half of the second inning, when the Mariners scored four times on five hits (three singles, two doubles).

Seattle catcher Miguel Olivo (3 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs) provided the most maddening moment of that inning for Sox starter Tim Wakefield. Olivo followed one-out singles by Bret Boone and Jeremy Reed with a slow roller to the left side of the infield. Bill Mueller attempted to barehand the ball, which slipped by him to Mark Bellhorn. Bellhorn threw home errantly, was charged with an error, and Boone scored on the play.

''That ends up being a screwy play," manager Terry Francona said. ''Billy has to go after it like that."

The No. 9 hitter, Willie Bloomquist, doubled, scoring Reed. Ichiro Suzuki grounded out, scoring Olivo, and Randy Winn delivered a two-out double, plating Bloomquist for a 4-0 lead.

''I made some bad pitches," Wakefield said. ''After that I felt like I did really well. I wish I could have that one inning back. I felt better as the game went on."

That showed. He'd passed the 100-pitch mark after six innings, with 101, but went out for the seventh and recorded a three-pitch inning.

''I'll say this for Wake," Francona said. ''He found his knuckleball, and he stayed out there effectively."