Erie similarity for Sox

And as if Cleveland fans needed another reason to boo Manny Ramírez, who has been gone eight seasons but still gets treated here as if he set fire to the Cuyahoga River on his way out of town, the Sox left fielder rubbed it in a little more in last night's 6-4 win by breaking a 4-all tie with a two-run home run in the ninth.

"I don't know," Ramirez said of the longstanding animus directed his way. "I can't control that. I just like to come and play the game and go home."

The home run, which followed a bloop single by the prodigal DH, David Ortiz, came on the first pitch Ramírez saw from Joe Borowski, who somehow saved a league-high 45 games last season despite a 5.07 ERA but isn't fooling anyone so far this season. Borowski has been taken deep three times in four innings in 2008, including a walkoff grand slam by Torii Hunter of the Angels.

The home run pitch was clocked at 82 miles an hour, an ominous reading for a man with Borowski's history of arm trouble.

"It really doesn't matter with the garbage I was throwing," Borowski said when asked about facing Ramírez, "especially against him."

Or anyone else who batted for the Sox in the ninth. Julio Lugo, who had played the clubhouse foil for Ortiz during his protracted slump but was stuck in an 0-for-16 slide of his own, doubled off Borowski to lead off the inning. Coco Crisp, who already had bunted for one hit and was thrown out trying to bunt for another, laid down yet another bunt and very nearly beat that one out, too, while advancing Lugo to third.

Dustin Pedroia, who had walked and scored on an opposite-field double by Kevin Youkilis in the first inning and singled off the foot of starter Jake Westbrook to drive in Lugo with the team's second run in the seventh, tied it with a fly ball deep enough to score Lugo.