Sox-Indians Update

Sox win it, 13-3 (10:05)
No Jacoby Ellsbury. No Kevin Youkilis. And no David Ortiz?
No problem. The Red Sox, playing without their mercurial lead-off hitter, first baseman and designated hitter, managed to make due in last night's 13-3 romp over the Cleveland Indians before a Fenway Park crowd of 37,541.

Facing a 2-1 deficit, the Sox erupted for 12 runs on 9 hits, sending 12 men to the plate before recording their first out. Jason Bay highlighted the inning by driving in Julio Lugo, who replaced Ortiz at DH, with the tying run and then delivering the crowning blow to make it 12-2 with a 3-run homer in his second at-bat in the inning.

Tim Wakefield (4-1, 2.92 ERA) earned the win after allowing two runs on four hits in six innings of work while Cleveland starter Jeremy Sowers (0-1, 12.60 ERA) absorbed the loss, going 5-plus innings while allowing seven runs on seven hits.

Sox blow it wide open in sixth, 13-2 (9:14)
Jason Bay hit an RBI double to left that scored Julio Lugo (single to right) with the tying run (2-2) and, later in the same inning, blasted a three-run homer to highlight a no-out, 12-run rally from a 2-1 deficit that chased Cleveland starter Jeremy Sowers in the bottom of the sixth.

Lugo got things going when he hit a lead-off single to right off Sowers, who walked Dustin Pedroia to put men in scoring position. Bay then drove in Lugo with the tying run with his RBI double. After Mike Lowell drew an intentional walk to load the bases, Rocco Baldelli, just activated from the 15-day disabled list (hamstring), singled to right to to push across Bay and Lowell with the go-ahead runs.

After he walked J.D. Drew, Sowers handed the baton to righthanded reliever Masa Kobayashi, who hardly fared any better in allowing five runs on five hits before he was given the hook in favor of Matt Herges, who inherited two runners and was greeted by Bay's three-run blast.

Can you say ``Ballgame''?

The Sox sent 12 men to the plate and scored 12 runs _ the most they had scored in a game since June 27, 2003 when they erupted for 14 runs in the first inning vs. the Florida Marlins _ before the Indians recorded their first out. Herges mercifully ended the inning by getting Lowell (ground to short), Baldelli (strikeout), and Drew (ground to second) to go down in order.

Indians take 2-1 lead at top of fifth (8:16)
After battling his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth, Wakefield continued to scuffle in the fifth, allowing the Indians to push across two runs on a pair of hits and one wild pitch.

Wakefield put the first two batters aboard when Matt LaPorta hit a lead-off single to left and Luis Valbuena doubled to left, putting men in scoring position. LaPorta came across with the tying run on a passed ball (an official scoring change from wild pitch) with Ben Francisco at the plate. Wakefield then plunked Francisco. Asdrubal Cabrera hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Valbuena.

Wakefield walked Victor Martinez, but got out of the inning when he induced Mark DeRosa to ground into a 6-4-3 double play.

Wake gets out of jam in top of fourth (8:07)
Starter Tim Wakefield got out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the fourth to help the Sox preserve a 1-0 lead. The knuckleballer gave up a lead-off single to right to Asdrubal Cabrera then proceeded to get Victor Martinez to ground out to second and Mark DeRosa to fly out to right before plunking David Dellucci and walking Ryan Garko to load the bases for Jhonny Peralta.

Wakefield got Peralta to ground out to third baseman Mike Lowell to extinguish the threat.

Sox take early 1-0 lead (7:26)
Julio Lugo, batting lead off and filling in for ailing designated hitter David Ortiz (stiff neck), got the Red Sox off to a roaring start when he hit a lead-off triple to left off Indians starter Jeremy Sowers.

Lugo then came across when Dustin Pedroia hit an RBI single to left, giving the Sox an early 1-0 lead.