Clement, Red Sox tame Tigers

Pitcher rebounds as offense shines

June 05, 2006|Gordon Edes, Globe Staff

DETROIT -- With Matt Clement temporarily quieting the debate over whether he is still qualified to pitch in the big leagues, represent the city of Boston, and retain membership in the human race -- if you don't think these things are interconnected, turn on your radio -- and four of his teammates reaching the seats in Comerica Park, including doubting David Ortiz, the Red Sox left their calling card here with the Tigers and headed back to the Bronx tonight, Motown giving way to a TV miniseries.

``Game 7 tomorrow night," said Kevin Youkilis, who hopes his bruised left forearm won't keep him out of the lineup tonight, when the Sox send Josh Beckett to the mound to renew acquaintances with Mike Mussina and the Yankees after the Sox took two of three from the Tigers with an 8-3 win yesterday. ``Game 7 the next day and the next day and the day after that. World Series, right?"

Anyone within earshot could hardly miss the point the irritated Youkilis was making. Taking two out of three from the Tigers, who still have baseball's best record but have been taken down a notch after losing three of four to the Yankees and dropping this series to the Sox, should not be dismissed casually just because the schedule now calls for the Sox to return to 161st Street and River Avenue.

Especially on an afternoon in which Clement rebounded from two miserable starts by giving the team six good innings before catcher Jason Varitek essentially decided for him that he was through, signaling to the dugout three pitches into the seventh, the Sox holding a 4-3 advantage at the time. Clement, who faced the minimum of nine batters in the first three innings and credited a more compact delivery for his crisper outing, did wonders for his credibility by leaving the tying run on third in the sixth after the Tigers had opened the inning with three straight hits, including a double by Marcus Thames.

``You know what, I try not to get too wrapped up in that," Clement (5-4) said of his doubters, whose numbers have grown exponentially. ``I've waded through a lot of seasons. Sometimes there are more positives than negatives, sometimes it's even, sometimes it's the other way around.

``Three starts ago, I was pretty good in Philadelphia. It wasn't like I was worlds away, or had 10 starts in a row that were bad. I've got a lot of faith in me. I'll keep battling and get better."

The Sox offense, meanwhile, with the help of longballs from Alex Gonzalez, Youkilis and Ortiz (back to back), and Manny Ramírez, plus a late-inning meltdown by Tigers reliever Jason Grilli, fashioned the Sox' most one-sided win since May 15, the last time the Sox won by at least five runs.