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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
CLEVELAND (AP) -- With Pedro waiting in the wings, the Indians
needed Bartolo Colon to pitch like a No. 1 starter.
And instead of complaining about his shoulder being sore, his
knee aching or his defense deserting him, that's exactly what Colon
did.
|  | | Lou Merloni's bat doesn't stand a chance after hitting a Bartolo Colon pitch. Colon hit 100 mph on the gun in the first inning. |
Colon pitched seven strong innings and Manny Ramirez homered and
drove in four runs Wednesday night, leading the Indians to a
critical 10-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
The victory moved Cleveland 1½ games ahead of Oakland and three
up on Boston in the AL wild-card race. And the timing couldn't have
been better for the Indians -- Pedro Martinez will start for the Red
Sox on Thursday night.
Martinez is 8-0 in his career against Cleveland and will be
pitching in Jacobs Field for the first time since April 30 when he
hit Roberto Alomar and was suspended for five games.
"Tomorrow's the rubber match and all of you are going to get to
see Pedro," Indians manager Charlie Manuel said in his crowded
office. "We're going to go after Pedro tomorrow."
Colon (13-8) allowed two earned runs and six hits in seven
innings. In his last start, Colon was leading 3-1 and needed one
out to get through the seventh when he told Manuel he was tired.
That wasn't what Manuel wanted to hear and he sat the
25-year-old down for a talk. Apparently, Colon took it to heart. He
hit 100 mph in striking out Carl Everett in the first, and was
never in real trouble.
"Bartolo was good," Manuel said. "He was aggressive and what
I liked was that he pitched inside."
Colon didn't have a 1-2-3 inning until the seventh, when he made
a nice play covering first for an out after David Segui knocked
down a hard liner. Russell Branyan then made a nice running catch
on Nomar Garciaparra to end the inning.
Colon's night was done after the seventh, but he didn't ask out
of the game this time.
"After 125 pitches, he looked at me and said, 'Am I
finished?"' Manuel said. "And I said, 'Yeah, you're through.' He
was Bartolo tonight. We needed that."
Ramirez hit a three-run double off Tomo Ohka (3-5) in the fourth
and later added his 29th homer. He has eight RBI in the first two
games of the series and 102 in just 97 games this season.
Branyan and Segui added two-run homers for the Indians, who play
the Red Sox six more times in the next eight days.
Jason Varitek homered for Boston, which can't afford to drop any
farther back.
"We still got six with them," said Dante Bichette. "It's
easier to take this loss knowing we've got Petey (Martinez) going.
He could have made this thing a sweep if we had gotten it done
tonight."
Ramirez's three-run double with two outs in the fourth off Ohka
gave the Indians a 6-1 lead. Einar Diaz singled with one out and
Ohka walked Omar Vizquel with two down. Roberto Alomar then battled
the right-hander for nine pitches before walking.
Ramirez went ahead 3-0 in the count before lining his double
into the right-field gap.
"The dude hit a slider on the outside part of the plate with
one hand for a double to right field," Segui said in awe of his
new teammate. "I'd say that's pretty good."
The Red Sox got a run back in the fifth on Troy O'Leary's RBI
groundout and Varitek's 10th homer brought Boston within 6-3 in the
sixth.
But Boston couldn't get any closer and Cleveland blew it open in
the seventh on Ramirez's homer and Segui's 435-foot blast to center
off Hector Carrasco.
"It's not so fun right now after this loss," said Brian
Daubach. "We want to win two of three here now and get them again
next week."
Branyan, who will be getting the bulk of the playing time in
left field with Wil Cordero out with a broken hand, put the Indians
up 2-0 in the second with his 15th homer.
Cleveland added another run in the inning on Vizquel's RBI
single.
The Red Sox got a run back in the third on O'Leary's RBI
double.
Game notes
The Indians are 25-10 at home since July 7. ... TV actor
George Wendt, best known as Norm from "Cheers," was spotted
having dinner in the Terrace Club in Jacobs Field. When Wendt
appeared on the stadium scoreboard, he raised a pint of beer and
toasted the crowd. ... Branyan has 15 homers in 136 at-bats. ...
Boston manager Jimy Williams couldn't have been happy to see seven
TV cameras perched atop the wall in center. Last season, Williams
made the Indians cover one camera he thought they were using to
steal signs. ... Ramirez moved into sole possession of third place
on the Indians' career homer list with 227. He passed Hall of Famer
Earl Averill.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Boston Clubhouse
Cleveland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Minnesota 7
Oakland 6
Cleveland 10
Boston 3
NY Yankees 3
Toronto 2
Chi. White Sox 1
Detroit 0
Baltimore 9
Texas 4
Anaheim 8
Tampa Bay 4
Seattle 2
Kansas City 1
NY Mets 4
Milwaukee 1
Cincinnati 13
Chicago Cubs 3
Philadelphia 15
Montreal 5
St. Louis 9
Pittsburgh 5
Atlanta 4
Florida 0
San Francisco 3
Houston 2
Arizona 3
Los Angeles 2
Colorado 11
San Diego 0
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Cleveland's Jim Thome feels Bartolo Colon has proven himself to be their ace.
wav: 143 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Bartolo Colon had everything going his way, according to Boston's Jason Varitek.
wav: 218 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Charlie Manuel talks about Bartolo Colon's command of the inside of the plate.
wav: 105 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
David Segui and the Indians know the key to the series is beating Pedro.
wav: 252 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Carl Everett feels the Red Sox need to take 2 out of 3 from the Indians.
wav: 122 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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