CLEVELAND – The Red Sox might want to grab a few of the white rally towels that were so prevalent at Jacobs Field last night and keep them stashed in a safe place.
Those towels may come in handy for surrendering to the Indians.
Indians starter Jake Westbrook moved the Red Sox a step closer to that point with a strong performance over 62/3 innings. His solid effort on a night Daisuke Matsuzaka was eminently hittable led the Indians to a 4-2 victory in Game 3 of the AL Championship Series.
The Red Sox, down a game in this best-of-seven series, are feeling the heat. If they can’t even the series with Tim Wakefield facing the Indians’ Paul Byrd tonight, get ready to throw in the towel, Red Sox Nation.
“We’ve just got to come and play,” David Ortiz said. “We’ve been in worse situations than this and have come back and gotten it done.”
It wasn’t until the seventh inning that the Red Sox showed any life, getting a two-run homer from Jason Varitek that pulled them within 4-2. To that point, the Indians had scored 12 straight runs, starting in the sixth inning of Game 2 at Fenway Park.
Before the Red Sox could get too giddy, Jensen Lewis replaced Westbrook and struck out Dustin Pedroia, who represented the potential tying run. And the Red Sox never touched relievers Rafael Betancourt or Joe Borowski over the final two innings.
The sinkerballing Westbrook got three double plays, keeping Boston to two runs on seven hits and three walks. The right-hander got his first career postseason victory.
“I just came in wanting to get strike one with a good quality pitch,” Westbrook said. “I was able to do that, and it showed by the way I pitched.”
The Red Sox had their best chance against Westbrook in the second, loading the bases with nobody out. But Varitek’s weak fly to left didn’t produce a run, and neither did Coco Crisp’s double-play ball to end the inning. Ortiz’s leadoff double in the fourth was wasted when Ortiz couldn’t avoid Manny Ramirez’s grounder – the ball drilled Big Papi in the groin, spoiling another Boston opportunity.
But nothing was more a shot to the gut for the Red Sox than the 6-4-3 double play that Ramirez hit into that ended the sixth, with Westbrook apparently on the ropes after Kevin Youkilis’ single and a walk to Ortiz.
It didn’t help the Red Sox that Dice-K was diced liver. The right-hander lasted only 42/3 innings and surrendered four earned runs on six hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
In the aftermath, Matsuzaka spent 45 minutes seated in a leather chair and stared blankly into his locker. It was a stark contrast to Ortiz, who sat on a clubhouse couch watching the NLCS and joking with reporters – mostly about the Ramirez grounder that had nearly deprived him of his manhood.
Though he was struggling, Matsuzaka trailed only 2-0 after four innings, and it still looked good when he struck out Trot Nixon leading off the fifth. But Casey Blake singled and Grady Sizemore walked before Asrubal Cabrera drove a single through the middle for a run. Travis Hafner’s ensuing RBI fielder’s choice extended the lead to 4-0.
“[Westbrook] did a good job controlling the ballgame,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said. “Whenever you have the ability to get two outs with one pitch, it goes a long way for you.”
mpuma@nypost.com
