Solo shots sink Sox

Indians can wrap series up today at Fenway Park

By Steven Krasner, New England Sports Service

BOSTON -- The sounds of silence.

That pretty much sums up yesterday's happenings at Fenway Park, where the Boston Red Sox hosted the Cleveland Indians in Game 3 of the American League Division Series.

At least that's the way it was for Boston's offense, which managed only four hits in eight innings against Charles Nagy, one of the major league's biggest gopher-ball artists.

Unfortunately for the Red Sox, there were four loud booms coming off Cleveland bats as the Indians powered their way past Boston, 4-3, and took a commanding 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series before a subdued sellout crowd of 33,114.

Ageless wonder Bret Saberhagen allowed only four hits, but the first three left the ballpark, a total of 1,186 feet worth of home runs.

Dennis Eckersley coughed up what proved to be the deciding sonic boom in the ninth, as the Indians opened up a 4-1 lead and thus were able to withstand Nomar Garciaparra's two-run blast off closer Mike Jackson in Boston's last at-bat.

Each Cleveland homer was a solo shot. Manny Ramirez notched two of them and Jim Thome and Kenny Lofton had one each as the Indians pushed the Red Sox to the brink of elimination.

So here's what it comes down to for Boston:

It's Pete Schourek, the veteran left-hander who was cut loose by Houston in August, facing Cleveland's Bartolo Colon today (4:30 p.m.), with a victory needed to force a deciding Game 5.

Of course, ace right-hander Pedro Martinez could be brought back one day short of his normal rest but Boston manager Jimy Williams has steadfastly maintained he won't do that, even though Martinez, through pitching coach Joe Kerrigan, has implored him to change his mind.

The Indians and the rest of the baseball world, however, aren't so sure Williams will stick to that plan.

"Jimy Williams knows his team much better than I do, so he knows better what to do," said Cleveland manager Mike Hargrove. "We will certainly prepare for all aspects of the next game. We are prepared to make adjustments."

Unless the Red Sox offense awakens from its slumber, however, all Boston will be preparing for is spring training.

Once again, there were haves and have-nots in the Boston lineup. The top four batters went 5-for-16. The bottom five went 1-for-17, the only hit a single by rookie outfielder Trot Nixon.

For the series, the top four is hitting .396 (19-for-48), with three doubles, four homers and 17 RBI. The bottom five is hitting only .170 (9-for-53), with zero extra-base hits and one RBI.

That's a major reason the Red Sox are facing elimination.

But, says Mo Vaughn, who went 2-for-4 yesterday, there's no reason to panic.

"It's do-or-die for us, but we'll respond," said Vaughn, hitting .462 (6 for 13) in the series. "This team will be ready to go and let it all hang out.

"The main thing is to not get too excited just because it's do-or-die," he said. "You have to be focused and just play the game without adding any extra pressure because there's enough pressure just playing anyway.

"We've all got to pick it up," said Vaughn. "It's not just one or two guys who are going to win it for this team. We have to stay relaxed."

Besides, maybe the Indians are not in as great a position as it seems, said Eckersley in his own brand of Eck-logic.

"It's always hard to put someone away," said the Eck. "So now, maybe it will be tough for them. Maybe we can put them away (today) and then beat them there (in Cleveland tomorrow in what would be a decisive Game 5). Maybe it would be sweeter to put them away there."

Did you follow that?

Well, following a few of the Indians' rockets made the Sox and their fans even a little dizzier.

In a snappy game that featured only one run through four innings, driven in on a hot smash of a fielder's-choice grounder by Garciaparra after singles by Darren Lewis and Vaughn in the fourth, the Indians began turning Fenway into a launching pad.

Thome connected first, croaking Saberhagen's budding no-hit bid by crushing a changeup 404 feet to center field, leading off the fifth. That tied the game at 1-1.

Lofton, who fouled off a bunt-single attempt, crashed a 394-foot solo shot into the Sox bullpen in the sixth, snapping the tie.

Ramirez launched a 388-foot rocket into the screen in left-center, leading off the seventh, putting the Indians ahead, 3-1.

And then, Ramirez, who clouted 45 homers this season, went deep again, sizzling a liner off Eckersley that almost blazed a hole in the net down the left-field line.

"That pitch was down and in and he hit a missile," said Eckersley. "How did he not hook it foul? Well, it's not like he's not a home-run hitter. It didn't seem like such a big deal at the time until Nomar's homer."

Indeed, that homer looked a lot bigger when Garciaparra followed Vaughn's one-out single with a two-run shot into the net in left-center on a 3-and-1, get-it-over fastball from Jackson.

The crowd finally came to life. But they were silenced quickly, as Mike Stanley grounded to short on the first pitch and, three pitches later, Troy O'Leary did likewise.

So now Boston's margin for error has shrunk to zero. The bulk of the offense has been missing in action and Schourek, not Martinez, will be pitching the most important game of Boston's season.

"I think he's going to do a good job, and then we'll have Pedro for Game 5," said reliever Tom Gordon.

He sounded hopeful. It's a nice scenario. Now all the Red Sox have to do is make it come true today.

Photos by The Associated Press
Top: As Cleveland's Manny Ramirez rounds the bases, Sox pitcher Bret Saberhagen takes a moment to reflect. Bottom: Cleveland's Kenny Lofton was an unlikely power source yesterday, going deep off Bret Saberhagen.