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Ramirez homers twice as Red Sox outlast Indians

Jul 27, 2007 - 4:35 AM By Todd Krepop PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

CLEVELAND (Ticker) - Manny Ramirez moved two steps closer to joining the 500 home run club.

Ramirez blasted his 486th and 487th career homers as the Boston Red Sox outslugged the Cleveland Indians 14-9, on Thursday.

It was the 49th multi-homer game of Ramirez's career as he helped the Red Sox take three out of four from the Indians in a matchup of two of the premier teams in the American League.

"(Cleveland) was one of the better teams in the league," Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis said. "It goes to show you what kind of ballclub we have."

Ramirez finished the night with four runs scored and four RBI.

An Indian for the first eight years of his career, Ramirez, who is booed constantly when he returns to Jacobs Field, has 15 home runs and 40 RBI against his former team.

After Cleveland pulled within 12-9 with four runs in the seventh, Ramirez hit Jensen Lewis' 3-2 pitch over the center field wall for a two-run homer in the eighth and a 14-9 cushion.

"(Ramirez) hit a rocket in the first and then came back with another one," Crisp said. "He always says, 'Anybody can hit one,' then he comes out and hits the second one. It was pretty cool."

After the Red Sox scored only one run in the past two games, Ramirez woke the Boston bats up with a 481-foot blast to center field in the second to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead.

"That was a nice swing," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "Right off the bat it got us going."

Ramirez blasted starter Cliff Lee's first pitch into the center field foliage. It was the third-longest home run in 13-year history of Jacobs Field.

"It was a bomb," Youkilis said. "I don't know how they measure how far it goes, but he crushed it."

The slumping Wily Mo Pena also had four RBI to go along with his four hits for the Red Sox.

"I've been working hard and feeling good," Pena said.

Pena, who came into the game hitless in his last 11 at-bats and was batting .122 (16-for-49) since June 13, was a triple short of the cycle. He had an RBI double in the fifth and a three-run homer in the seventh.

"Everybody is happy for him," Francona said. "He gave us a big boost. I think he saw six pitches, swung at all of them and four of them he hit right on the nose."

Boston gained some breathing room with a five-run fifth to take a 9-1 lead on an RBI double by Ramirez, a two-run single by Mike Lowell, Coco Crisp's RBI single and Pena's RBI double.

Julian Tavarez (6-8) picked up the win despite giving up a three-run homer to Ryan Garko in the seventh as the Indians closed to within 12-9.

Red Sox starter Kason Gabbard failed to go the required five innings to get the victory, despite being one out away from getting the third out in the fifth.

The lefthander allowed five runs and four hits, walking three and striking out three.

"It's kind of embarrassing to have a 9-1 lead and have that happen," Gabbard said.

Lee (5-8) was knocked around for the fourth straight start. The lefthander allowed eight runs - seven earned - on nine hits in four innings. During his last four starts, Lee is 0-4 with an 11.70 ERA.

"I made a couple of bad pitches," Lee said. "I made some good pitches they got hits on. It seems like everything that could possibly go against me did. I have to pitch better, period." As Lee left the field to a chorus of boos, he sarcastically tipped his cap to the crowd.

"I just took my cap off," Lee explained. "I wasn't trying to show anybody up."

The Indians lost their fourth home series of the season and failed to gain ground on the Detroit Tigers, who lost earlier in the day.

"What I want is to for our team a chance to win as many games as we can in August and September," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "That is what we're going to keep pushing for."