Last laugh

Oh, those wacky Red Sox. Nothing like a little levity to take the edge off a playoff race. That's why Terry Francona's merry pranksters last night let Manny Ramirez lead the charge out of the dugout in the first inning against the Blue Jays -- only for the rest of the starters to remain in the dugout while Ramirez jogged to left field believing his teammates were right behind him.

Even when Manny discovered the joke was on him as he stood alone in the field, his teammates lingered in the dugout, sharing a giggle with 35,105 enablers in the stands.

But the best laugh came later, with Ramirez loving it as much as his madcap mates. After all, it was Ramirez who left one of his signature No. 24 wristbands in Orlando Cabrera's locker before the game. Cabrera, struggling mightily to prove himself since he replaced Nomar Garciaparra, used the wristband and a few encouraging words from Ramirez to turn in one of his finest batting practice sessions since he joined the Sox.

Then Cabrera put smiles on the faces of Sox fans when he doubled off the Green Monster with one out in the bottom of the ninth to knock in Johnny Damon for an electrifying 5-4 walkoff triumph before the 60th straight sellout crowd at Fenway Park. The last-at-bat victory was the second in four games for the Sox, who improved to 6-3 on the homestand, 10-7 since Garciaparra's departure, and maintained a share of the lead in the wild-card derby with the Rangers.

"He's playing in a very tough arena right now, replacing a hero to all these fans," Damon said of Cabrera. "For him to get that hit, I couldn't be any happier for him.

Another new guy trying to make his way in the Hub, Dave Roberts, set up the winning rally by drawing a pinch walk leading off the ninth against Kevin Frederick. After Roberts was forced at second on Damon's grounder, Cabrera socked an 0-and-1 pitch from Justin Speier off the top of the scoreboard for the game-winner. In a carom rarely seen outside the Fens, the ball bounced skyward, allowing Damon to score from first.

Cabrera relished every second of it, though he knew one day he would meet the outsized expectations he has encountered. Ramirez helped him believe it.

"You can go 0 for 20, but you have to keep going," Cabrera said. "Like Manny said, `You have to turn the page every day, that's the only way you can do it.' "

The winning rally unfolded too late for the Sox to eke out a win for Pedro Martinez, who handed off the 4-4 tie after seven innings to the bullpen. In the end, Keith Foulke retired the Jays in order in the ninth to pick up the win and improve to 3-3.

But Martinez, rather than bemoan his missed opportunity, reveled in Cabrera capitalizing on his own. He said Cabrera has become the lightning rod for debate over the blockbuster trade involving Garciaparra.

"He's under pressure, especially in Boston -- my God, the worst place to have pressure on you," Martinez said. "A lot of people are looking up to him and have expectations too high, a little too high. So I am very happy for him that he gave the fans a win and something to look forward to."

The Sox got help from Mike Timlin and Mike Myers, who combined to pitch a 1-2-3 eighth. They also got contributions from Damon and Jason Varitek, who socked solo homers off starter Ted Lilly, while Gabe Kapler and Ricky Gutierrez knocked in the other Sox runs.

Then there was Martinez, who was unable to improve his 13-4 record as his ERA rose to 3.78. He had lost only once in his previous 15 outings, but he lacked his recent precision as he allowed as many runs (four) as he had surrendered over 23 innings in his previous three outings.

"I felt a little dragging, a little off," he said. "I knew I didn't have my best stuff so I had to battle through the game. Those games can wear you out."

Firing 106 pitches over seven innings, Martinez yielded eight hits, including a two-run homer to Vernon Wells and a solo shot to Eric Hinske, the only home runs he has allowed this month. Wells also launched an RBI double off Martinez, who walked none and struck out six.

But Martinez was tickled by the outcome.

"I gave my team an opportunity to stay in the game and we ended up winning," he said, "so we are all happy."

Well, not quite. At least not when Lilly struck David Ortiz on the right hand with two outs and Ramirez on first in the seventh inning. Ortiz stared for a moment at his hand, then, clearly agitated, turned his attention to Lilly.

That incited Lilly to angrily approach Ortiz, which in turn prompted Carlos Delgado to rush in from first base and several Sox players, led by Curt Schilling and Kapler, to bolt from the dugout as the umpires and coaches intervened. Several Blue Jays also emerged from their dugout. Words were exchanged but Ortiz wisely avoided further escalating the incident.

"I know all he's trying to do is keep me off the plate," Ortiz said. "It's not like he was trying to hit me on purpose. But I don't think my reaction was the worst. I was just telling him, `Hey, you're going to break my hand.'

"It's not like I was going to fight or anything."

As Lilly left the field, he appealed to Ramirez to tell Ortiz he never intended to hit him. Ramirez delivered the message. "He told Manny he wasn't trying to hit me or anything," Ortiz said. "He's just trying to keep me off the plate and I understand that."

The previous inning, Ramirez spoke with his glove, making a dandy catch on the warning track in left-center to rob Frank Catalanotto. Toronto's interim manager, John Gibbons, called it the play of the game. And Martinez said it was worthy of a "silver glove," Ramirez's ambition in lieu of the gold.

But a smiling Cabrera considered the support he received from Ramirez the best play of the day.