Relievers take step back

Closer Keith Foulke was getting back on track. So was reliever Alan Embree.
Then they both took slight steps backward in the eighth inning Monday night, when the Red Sox held a 9-5 lead against the Indians at Jacobs Field. Embree and Foulke finished that inning with the Sox hanging on by just a run.

Embree started the eighth with a strikeout. After walking his second batter, he made the second out. But he never got the third, as Travis Hafner slammed a pitch 424 feet and over the center-field wall to cut the Sox lead to two.

Despite Hafner's home run, Embree said he felt more comfortable on the mound than at any time this season.

"It feels like I'm getting back to where I was," Embree said after Boston's 10-9 win. "When I was missing, I wasn't missing by much."

Although Embree just missed the target on his mistake pitch to Hafner, the Boston left-hander walked off the mound knowing he left himself something to build off.

"I didn't lose my focus," he said. "I'll take the stuff that I had [Monday]. If I can maintain it, I'll take it."

Once Embree left, Foulke entered. He fared a little better in the eighth, but that's only because the home run he allowed was a solo shot that kept the Sox ahead, 9-8.

"That ball to right field was crushed," manager Terry Francona said.

So were several balls hit off Foulke in the ninth. Fortunately for the Sox, he escaped a jam with his 14th save.

"You know what's amazing about Foulke is that there's [just] one game [April 26 against Baltimore] that he came in the game and we lost because he gave up runs," Francona said. "You talk about bending but not breaking. He doesn't wilt and he got them out."

Foulke was getting outs consistently this month before Monday. He had pitched six scoreless innings in six appearances since June 2.

"I would love to see him run a streak of 20 scoreless innings," Francona said.

Baserunning blunder: Nobody will ever question Manny Ramirez's hitting ability, because his talent with a bat could someday enshrine him in Cooperstown. While Ramirez is an All-Star hitter, his baserunning skills have always been subpar.

Facing reliever Bob Howry in the ninth inning on Monday, Ramirez lined a hit to center field that looked like a single off his bat.

And that's all it was. Still, Ramirez tried to turn that single into a two-bagger.

Cleveland center fielder Grady Sizemore made a quick scoop and throw to second base, where Ramirez was out standing by about 15 feet.

"He made a great turn, but he just kept going," Francona joked. "In the dugout, usually someone will make a [funny] comment. Nobody knew what to say."

Schilling update: Right-hander Curt Schilling, who threw a simulated game Monday afternoon at The Jake, remains on track for a bullpen session Wednesday and another simulated game Friday at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

"That's all we can do, is check on how he shows up," Francona said. "He's very upbeat and looking forward to Friday."

Here's the question: Who are the three Red Sox pitchers to strike out 17 or more batters in a single game? (See answer below.)

Did you know: Right-hander Bronson Arroyo, 28, spent eight seasons in the Pirates organization. Arroyo began his professional career for the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Pirates in 1995, when he started out in the bullpen.

On this date: In 1916, right-hander Rube Foster tossed the first no-hitter in Fenway Park history in a 2-0 win against the Yankees. Foster earned a $100 bonus from club management for his effort, while each of his teammates received a gold-handled pocketknife engraved with the date.

And here's the answer: Right-handers Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez and Bill Monbouquette are the only pitchers to strike out 17 or more batters in a game while wearing a Red Sox uniform. Clemens had a pair of 20-strikeout games with the Sox and Martinez twice struck out 17 batters for Boston. Monbouquette, who won 93 games over eight seasons with the Sox, struck out 17 Washington Senators on May 12, 1961.

On deck: The Red Sox wrap up their three-game series with the Indians on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. ET. Wade Miller (2-2, 5.16 ERA) gets the ball for Boston, while Cleveland counters with Cliff Lee (8-3, 3.33 ERA).

After an off-day Thursday, the Sox start a three-game series Friday night in Philadelphia. They return to Fenway Park on Monday to start a six-game homestand.

Source: http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/