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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
CLEVELAND (AP) -- By the time the Indians finished with Boston,
the Red Sox had much more than an aching back.
Jim Thome hit a grand slam, Harold Baines added a
three-run shot and Charles Nagy pitched seven solid innings
Thursday as Cleveland moved within a win of sweeping Boston with an
11-1 rout of the Red Sox.
|  | | Omar Vizquel tripled and later scored during Cleveland's six-run third inning. |
The Indians, who were the first team in 49 years to score more
than 1,000 runs during the regular season, looked for a while like
they might try to match that figure in Game 2.
"We're in a groove now," shortstop Omar Vizquel said. "We got
everybody swinging the bats, and we're feeding off one another".
The Indians battered Bret Saberhagen after his uncharacteristic
wildness -- three walks in the third (he had walked 11 batters all year) -- helped the Indians score 11
runs in a two-inning span to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5
series.
The Red Sox, who lost Pedro Martinez to a back injury in Game 1
and maybe for the series, will turn to another Martinez, Pedro's
brother, Ramon, to save their season in Game 3 Saturday at Fenway
Park. Dave Burba starts for Cleveland.
"We need a good start from Ramon," Red Sox manager Jimy
Williams said. "We have to win Saturday. We know that. ... We're
not done yet. It's not over yet."
The Indians, who had lost eight straight series openers before
winning Game 1 Wednesday night, have won five straight postseason
games against the Red Sox. Boston has owned Cleveland during the
regular season the past two years, but can't seem to figure the
Indians out in October.
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GAME 2 AT A GLANCE
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Every game a hero
The Cleveland bats exploded for 11 runs, but Charles Nagy shut down the Red Sox with one run in seven innings. Nagy had a similar start in beating the Red Sox in last year's Division Series (one run in eight innings).
Key number
Fourteen. Number of career postseason home runs for Jim Thome. Career postseason leaders:
18 -- Mickey Mantle (65 games)
18 -- Reggie Jackson (77 games)
15 -- Babe Ruth (41 games)
14 -- Jim Thome (47 games)
13 -- Manny Ramirez (49 games)
12 -- Yogi Berra (75 games)
Last word
"It's awesome when we're hitting. All you can do sometimes is watch."
-- Cleveland's Kenny Lofton.
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Pedro Martinez, who removed himself after four innings in Game
1, said the muscle strain in his back had improved, but that there
was persistent pain and he planned to throw again Saturday.
Even if he can pitch again, it may be too late for the Red Sox,
who dropped to 1-18 since Bill Buckner's infamous error in Game 6
of the 1986 World Series.
Williams kidded that it might be time for desperate measures.
Maybe even a seance.
"Maybe I'll get a hold of George Herman (Ruth)," Williams
said.
Thome made history with his second career postseason slam,
capping Cleveland's two-inning onslaught against Saberhagen and
John Wasdin. His shot in the fourth off Wasdin gave Cleveland an
11-1 lead.
Thome, who hit a grand slam last year in the AL Championship
Series, has 14 career postseason homers and four in his last four
playoff games. His two-run homer in Game 1 made it 2-2 in the
sixth, and the Indians rallied to win in the bottom of the ninth.
Of Thome's 36 postseason hits, 14 have left the field.
"It's hard to explain," he said. "I've had some good pitches
to hit, and they went out."
Nagy allowed one run and five hits in beating the Red Sox for
the second straight time in the playoffs. He beat Boston in Game 3
of last year's series and is 3-0 in the playoffs and 8-1 in his
career against the Red Sox.
"I have no idea why I have success against that team and I'm
not going to even try to analyze it or think about it," he said.
Saberhagen, on the disabled list three times this year, walked
11 batters in 119 innings this season. But he walked three in the
third inning, when the Indians set a Division Series record by
scoring six times.
"I guess he's human," Williams said. "He's not perfect."
Saberhagen, World Series MVP in 1985, is 0-3 in three
first-round starts.
"I just didn't make some pitches when I had to," Saberhagen
said. "Walking three guys in an inning, that's not me. Maybe I
didn't mix my pitches as much as I should have."
Vizquel hit a two-run triple, Roberto Alomar had an RBI double
and Baines capped the Cleveland third with a three-run shot to
right-center.
But Saberhagen, who didn't walk a batter in 13 starts and no
more than one in 20 of 22, wasn't completely to blame. After Travis
Fryman walked to open the inning, Sandy Alomar hit a slow grounder
to shortstop that looked like a sure double play -- both Fryman and
Alomar wear knee braces.
However, Fryman slid hard into second and Jose Offerman's relay
throw pulled Mike Stanley off the bag at first to put the Indians
in business. Kenny Lofton worked Saberhagen for a walk, and Vizquel
followed with a triple to right.
"You've got to give Sandy and Travis a lot of credit," Thome
said. "They're playing on knees that are pretty bad."
Alomar followed Vizquel's hit with a double to the same spot,
and with Manny Ramirez due up, the Jacobs Field crowd smelled
blood. But Saberhagen got Ramirez on a fly ball before walking
Thome.
Baines then put the finishing touches on the Indians' biggest
postseason inning with his 412-foot homer, the fifth of his career
in the postseason.
Offerman's two-out RBI single in the third gave the Red Sox a
1-0 lead.
Notes
The 11 runs equaled a Division Series record and were the
most in Cleveland postseason history. ... Nomar Garciaparra, an
Indians killer all year, went 0-for-3. ... When Sandy Alomar threw
out Offerman stealing in the first it snapped an 0-for-14 streak
for the Indians catcher against basestealers since he came off the
disabled list on Sept. 6. ,.. Ramon Martinez made two postseason
appearances for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the 1996 Division
series against Atlanta, he allowed one run and three hits in eight
innings. ... Hall of Famer Bob Feller threw out the ceremonial
first pitch.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Boston Clubhouse
Cleveland Clubhouse
Red Sox vs. Indians series page
Sabes has rare bout of wildness
Red Sox without Nomar for Game 3; Pedro still hurting
RECAPS
Cleveland 11
Boston 1
NY Yankees 3
Texas 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jim Thome discusses his second career postseason grand slam.
wav: 142 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Omar Vizquel explains the Indians playoff goals.
wav: 216 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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