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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
BOSTON (AP) -- Jason Varitek wiped his drenched catcher's mitt
with a blue towel, relieved that his Boston Red Sox had beaten
Cleveland before the field turned into a swamp.
"I didn't want to sit out there any longer than I had to," he
said after the Red Sox knocked the Indians out of the AL wild-card
lead with a rain-soaked 7-4 victory Tuesday night.
|  | | Manny Ramirez dives in for the Indians' first run, courtesy of a Travis Fryman sac fly in the second. |
Especially with the teams facing a crammed schedule -- day-night
doubleheaders against each other Wednesday and Thursday,
necessitated, of course, by April showers that washed out a
three-game series at Fenway Park.
So in a span of about 52 hours, the teams meet in five games
that will have a major impact on the wild-card battle. Oakland
leads Cleveland by one-half game and Boston by 2½.
"Oakland's schedule seems to be easier than ours," Indians
shortstop Omar Vizquel said. "They seem to have an advantage over
us."
Boston's hitters had the edge Tuesday, and Cleveland faces Pedro
Martinez in Wednesday's opener.
A pair of two-run hits -- Nomar Garciaparra's triple and Dante
Bichette's homer -- capped a four-run third inning against Charles
Nagy (2-6). He's pitched and lost two games, both against Boston,
since a four-month stint on the disabled list.
"I'm in a tough spot right now because I really don't have the
time to settle in," Nagy said. "We have to win every game and
tonight I didn't help our cause at all."
The game started in a light rain that soon ended. During the
seventh, a sudden shower caused a 10-minute delay. And with two
outs and Jim Thome at bat in the ninth, a downpour made things
tough for Derek Lowe, who got his 37th save in 42 opportunities,
and Travis Fryman, who struck out with runners at first and third
to end the game.
"All you can do is throw a fastball" because of the rain, Lowe
said. "You know that the umpires aren't going to stop the game."
Rod Beck (2-0), the fifth of six Red Sox pitchers, worked a
scoreless eighth and was given credit for the win.
Boston still has plenty of work to do to reach the playoffs and a
short time -- just 13 games -- in which to do it.
"Hopefully, this sets the tone," Bichette said. "Guys are
pretty focused, not too emotional, not too up or down."
Cleveland went up 1-0 in the second when Manny Ramirez doubled,
took third on Tomo Ohka's wild pitch and scored on Fryman's
sacrifice fly.
The Red Sox scored four runs in the third. Trot Nixon led off
with a single, Varitek walked and both scored on Garciaparra's
triple. Bichette then pounced on the first pitch for a homer, his
fifth in 18 games with Boston since being traded from Colorado on
Aug. 31.
The Red Sox made it 6-1 in the fourth. Darren Lewis doubled and
scored on Nixon's single that chased Nagy. Jason Speier didn't do
much better, allowing a double to Jose Offerman and a sacrifice fly
to Varitek.
Ohka, who put runners at third in three of his four innings, was
replaced at the beginning of the fifth by Hipolito Pichardo and the
Indians took advantage with two runs in the inning.
Vizquel and Roberto Alomar singled, Thome hit a sacrifice fly
and Fryman singled in a run, making the score 6-3.
The Red Sox added a run in the sixth when Offerman singled,
Garciaparra walked and center fielder Kenny Lofton misjudged Troy
O'Leary's routine fly ball, letting it drop behind him for a
double.
After the rain delay, a disputed run made it 7-4 in the seventh.
Thome struck out with Alomar at third, but the ball appeared to hit
Thome's foot and get by catcher Varitek. Alomar scored, Thome
reached first, and Boston manager Jimy Williams argued in vain.
Game notes
Ramirez and Vizquel extended their hitting streaks to 10
games. ... Boston's first five pitchers were from different
countries: Ohka (Japan), Pichardo (Dominican Republic), Rheal
Cormier (Canada), Rich Garces (Venezuela) and Beck (United States).
Two of Cleveland's six pitchers were born outside the United
States: Cameron Cairncross (Australia) and Ricardo Rincon (Mexico).
... Boston center fielder Carl Everett sat out with a strained
quadriceps. ... Lewis made errors in consecutive games for the
first time in his career when a wet ball slipped as he tried to
throw, allowing Sandy Alomar, who had singled, to take second in
the eighth.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Cleveland Clubhouse
Boston Clubhouse
McAdam: Win now or ... win now
RECAPS
Oakland 7
Baltimore 4
Oakland 0
Baltimore 0
(2nd game)
Boston 7
Cleveland 4
Chi. White Sox 6
Detroit 2
Toronto 16
NY Yankees 3
Seattle 5
Tampa Bay 2
Kansas City 5
Anaheim 1
Minnesota 15
Texas 7
Florida 3
Montreal 1
Pittsburgh 12
Philadelphia 8
Atlanta 12
NY Mets 4
Milwaukee 9
Chicago Cubs 8
Houston 8
St. Louis 6
San Diego 7
Colorado 2
Los Angeles 1
Arizona 0
San Francisco 7
Cincinnati 3
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Dante Bichette says the Red Sox are a focused baseball team.
wav: 187 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Trot Nixon says the Red Sox put themselves in position to win.
wav: 99 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Dante Bichette says winning the first game against the Indians is big for Boston.
wav: 101 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Jimy Williams says Tuesday was a strange night for baseball.
wav: 132 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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