Wakefield finds a cure

MINNEAPOLIS -- Just as Terry Francona had done with an ailing J.D. Drew earlier this week, the Red Sox manager prescribed an early exit and a night of rest for Tim Wakefield when the knuckleballer came down with a cold during the home stand. After receiving a couple of bags of intravenous fluids, Wakefield was sent home Wednesday night, loaded down with medication, and on track for 14 hours of needed sleep.

Yet Wakefield shrugged off any intimations that he might have asked for a delay on taking the mound, insisting that -- no matter how sick -- there are no adjustments he has to make.

"It's just one of those things," he said last night, after earning his third win of the season to even his record with a 2-0 win over the Twins. "You catch a cold or get the flu, you've still got to make your start. I just tried to get as much rest as I could a couple nights ago and drink lots of fluids and get on some medications and go get 'em."

Five weeks and nearly six turns through the rotation, despite many more column inches devoted to Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and even Julian Tavarez, Wakefield has been arguably the steadiest member of the Red Sox' rotation, his ERA better than any of his teammates'.

Though Wakefield's ERA sank with his seven innings of three-hit, shutout baseball and Oakland's Danny Haren's rose with seven innings of four-hit, two-run baseball, the knuckleballer still sat at second in the American League in the category with a sparkling 2.11 mark (nine earned runs in six starts, over 38 1/3 innings), just north of Haren's 1.75.

"He was fantastic. And he's about 48 hours removed from a couple of IV bags," Francona said. "He wasn't feeling too well. We were worried about him with the flight yesterday. We asked him if he wanted to come early, just try to get some rest and he said, 'Nah.' He wanted to come with us. We got in late. We knew he was dragging a little bit. In fact, if he wasn't we probably would have let him go out in the eighth."

With the game against the Mariners Thursday night extending a 3 hours 26 minutes, the team plane didn't land in Minnesota until well past 3 a.m. Not a good plan for a man who had been fighting a cold that had him "really struggling," according to Francona, and on the edge of dehydration.

"I'm having a hard time breathing, so Terry asked me after seven how I felt," Wakefield said. "I could have gone out there again, but why break myself down even more for my next start? He felt that I gave a good enough effort for seven innings to go with the bullpen from then on."

Over seven innings, the Twins only threatened twice, in the first and second innings. With two outs in the first, Wakefield hit Joe Mauer on the right arm, then gave up an infield single by Torii Hunter. But he induced a fly to left by Justin Morneau to end the inning. Then, in the second, Jason Kubel walked with one out, and went to third on a double by Jason Bartlett after Josh Rabe flied out to center. Luis Castillo's liner to shortstop Julio Lugo, though, left the base runners stranded.

In the next five innings, Wakefield had three 1-2-3s and allowed just three more base runners, one in the third with two outs and two in the sixth (after reaching on a walk, Hunter was caught stealing before Morneau was walked with two outs). But it didn't matter. With his 104 pitches (60 for strikes), Wakefield confounded the Twins -- until it was time to depart for the evening.

It was at that point that three members of the bullpen -- J.C. Romero, Brendan Donnelly, and Jonathan Papelbon -- combined to pitch two scoreless innings, getting the team from the sublime Wakefield, who allowed just three walks in his seven innings, to the win. Wakefield jumped to 7-3 lifetime in the Metrodome, lowering his ERA to 3.95 in a place he said puts a "little bit more movement on the ball."

The performance helped to erase the memory of his last start. Not that it was poor, as three runs in 5 1/3 innings against the Yankees bettered a few of his rotation-mates, but it did result in the only loss the Red Sox have suffered to the Yankees this season. (Because, mostly, of the poor run support, which Wakefield still can't manage to avoid.)

That's why, after the game, the refrain was the same as always.

"Wakefield pitched unbelievable," said David Ortiz, whose solo home run provided the first score for the Sox. "Next time we'll try to score more runs for him."

Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com.