Hitting back

The Sox, who sent 57 men to the plate and batted around twice (in the fifth and eighth innings), never had beaten the Yankees by more than 14 until yesterday before a benumbed 55,315 at the Stadium.

The Yankees, in going 15-2 before this series, had held opponents to a .243 batting average. The last two games, a Sox loss and win, respectively, Boston is batting .427 (38 for 89). Carl Pavano (3 2/3 innings, 11 hits, 5 runs) was roundly booed as he exited, and yet those who followed -- Mike Stanton, Paul Quantrill, and Buddy Groom -- combined to give up 12 runs. Quantrill alone surrendered three homers.

''It's kind of obvious, but we needed this," said Sox manager Terry Francona, whose team arrived at the Stadium yesterday winless in a season-high four straight games. ''Not as much the win, but to have the time to take a breath."

The moment of exhalation came after the Sox' half of the fifth inning, when Edgar Renteria (3 for 3, HR, 5 RBIs) propelled a grand slam to the opposite field and Trot Nixon (3 for 6, HR, 5 RBIs) launched a three-run blast to center for a seven-run inning and 12-0 lead. By the middle of the fifth, the game's midpoint, the Sox were outhitting the Yankees, 17-2, and the paying customers were, well, displeased.

''It's nice to be coming off the field with Yankees fans [yelling]," Francona said. ''I kind of missed that a little bit."

Whether this is a seminal moment -- whether May 28 becomes to the 2005 Sox what July 24 was to the 2004 edition -- won't be known for weeks, if not longer. But it was an epic performance in which numerous Red Sox affirmed for themselves foremost, and the fan base second, their capabilities.

Renteria, the Sox' cerebral shortstop, improved to 6 for 7 in the series and 12 for 19 through four games of this six-game road trip. He's turned a .239 average into .281 in four days. However improbable this might be, with a 5-for-5 performance tonight, Renteria would come home to Fenway Park with a .301 average.

''I'm working to be one of the best, to be an All-Star shortstop," Renteria said. ''I could be like, 'Oh, I got my money. I don't care what the team's doing. I got my money.' But that's not me. That's why I work hard every day to be one of the best.