Wedge called for the intentional pass, opting to face Manny Ramírez, who had two homers on the season, rather than Ortiz, whose ninth homer of April tied Ramírez's club record. ''If you're going to pick your poison," Keith Foulke said, ''you'd better have the right antidote for it."
Mota did not. He left his second pitch in a place suited for Ramírez to take one of his audacious inside-out cuts. The ball just cleared the fence in right center, sending the Sox to an 8-6 win before 18,438 at the Jake on a 42-degree night that only the Indians furball mascot could love (''I'm not going to complain, I'll take this weather all year," said Slider as he wobbled about in his stuffy costume).
The win improved the Sox to 13-7 on a long, sometimes unclean, but ultimately triumphant night of baseball. The Sox led, 2-0, fell behind, 4-2, pulled ahead, 5-4, and gave that back, to make it 5-5, before prevailing.
They created an early lead against Jake Westbrook (six walks), loading the bases in the second inning. On the season, they were just 6 for 24 with the bases loaded, and Youkilis made it 6 for 25 by striking out. But Mark Loretta, mired in a lengthy slump (11 for 64), singled to center for a 2-0 lead.
The Indians quickly tied it, in the bottom of the inning. Schilling pitched cautiously to Victor Martinez and walked him. Ben Broussard followed by turning on a 1-and-1 splitter that Schilling didn't want back, calling it ''a good one."
The Indians hung up another 2-spot in the third. Grady Sizemore tripled with one out, Jason Michaels singled him in for a 3-2 lead, and Travis Hafner, with two outs and the count 0-and-2, hit a ringing ground-rule double, elevating Cleveland's lead to 4-2.
