More power to 'em

Ramirez (slam) and offense key Red Sox rebound

July 06, 2005|Globe Staff

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Maybe they should be 10 or 12 games in front in the American League East, and maybe they never should have allowed the Orioles, Yankees, and Blue Jays to stay afloat. But they did, and when the season reached one of its lows Monday night when Keith Foulke let a 5-4 lead slip away in the ninth inning in a devastating loss, Sox players sensed tough times were ahead -- yet they decided this wasn't going to be a sob story.

''I had four guys from the bullpen come in to me before the game to tell me they were ready to go," said Boston manager Terry Francona, who will send Foulke home this morning for MRIs on his balky knees.

It was a sign of the togetherness that last season led the team to a world championship.

Another was Tim Wakefield giving the Sox eight strong innings last night in his 300th career start, holding down a potent Texas attack in a 7-4 win. It was a game in which Johnny Damon, one of the toughest players in baseball, made a running, rolling catch of a Gary Matthews Jr. dropping liner in the ninth. Although it appeared Damon reinjured his right shoulder, he flexed it a few times and continued to play.

And don't forget the offense, which produced a grand slam by Manny Ramirez, a two-run homer by David Ortiz, and a solo shot by Bill Mueller. Mike Timlin was called upon to close, and he did it in six-pitch efficiency in a 1-2-3 ninth.

''It's amazing to me how we had another devastating loss [Monday] and we came back to take care of business [last night]," said Damon, who continued his 21-game hitting streak with a single in the first inning. ''We have a 3 1/2-game lead and we still haven't played that great."

Of his catch, Damon said, ''I popped some body parts, but I was able to get them back in the right spots after the game. I had a good jump on the ball, but I didn't know how far I needed to sprint for it. I'm just happy I came up with it."

With the bullpen in shambles and ace Curt Schilling likely not returning until after the All-Star break, the emphasis shifted back to the offense.

Certainly feeling the moment, the dynamic 1-2 punch of Ramirez (his 22d homer) and Ortiz (20th) accounted for six of the seven Sox runs over the first three innings.

''We're struggling a little bit, so to come in and score runs early, it was good to hit the ball like that," said Ortiz.

The Sox were smoking early against 6-foot-10-inch Texas starter Chris Young but stalled when lefthander Ron Mahay came on in the third for a 3 2/3-inning stint. He struck out five and allowed only one hit. In fact, the Sox didn't score after the third inning.