Improving on their record away from Fenway is a must for Boston to stay in the A.L. East chase.

09:15 AM EDT on Friday, July 16, 2004

BY ART MARTONE
Journal Sports Editor

AP photo Boston Red Sox's catcher Jason Varitek waits for the throw as Anaheim Angels' Jose Guillen scores on a Darin Erstad double to center during the fifth inning at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., last night.

One team has a batting average of .303. The other, .258.

One team scores 6.2 runs per game. The other, 4.9.

One team gets on base 37.6 percent of the time. The other, 34.4.

It should be no surprise, therefore, that one team has a .667 winning percentage (which, if projected out to 162 games, translates to a seasonal record of 108-54). The other, .439 (71-91).

What is surprising, though, is that these aren't really two teams.

The first -- the .667 group -- is the 2004 Boston Red Sox when playing at Fenway Park. The other -- the .439 bunch -- is the 2004 Boston Red Sox when playing anywhere else.

And that's why the beginning of the second half of the season, which kicked off late last night at Anaheim, is so crucial to the Sox. They play 18 of their first 23 in the second half on the road, and a .439 winning percentage in those

18 games would probably extinguish whatever slim hopes they have of catching the Yankees in the A.L. East. More importantly, it could put them behind the eight-ball in the wild-card race, which they led by a game heading into last night's action.

In order to avoid those dual fates, they're going to have to play much better on the road than they have recently. They've lost their last four road series (two out of three in Atlanta, three straight in Yankee Stadium, two out of three in San Francisco and two out of three in Colorado), and five of their last six. In fact, their three-game sweep of the Yankees in late April is the only road series they've won all year against a team that's currently over .500.

The culprits aren't hard to find:

Jason Varitek is hitting .227, with a .344 on-base percentage and a .336 (!) slugging percentage, on the road, compared to .321/.413/.537 at home.

Mark Bellhorn, hitting .293 at Fenway Park, has been a .235 hitter on the road, with a slugging percentage drop of .491 to .389.

David Ortiz downshifts from Herculean at Fenway (.332/.367/.603) to better-than-average (.273/.339/.596) away from home.

So does Johnny Damon, whose Fenway numbers (.351/.431/.494) dwarf his non-Fenway numbers (.289/.369/.482).

Not to mention Bill Mueller, who's .310/.398/.524 numbers at Fenway may not be Herculean but are certainly better than his .261/.320/.364 road stats.

Fact is, virtually every Red Sox hitter is more effective in Boston than out of Boston. It's not unique -- most every team and many major-league players hit better at home than on the road -- but the Sox' dropoff is dramatic . . . and it shows in the won-loss record.

It's dramatic enough to offset their pitching, which, unlike their hitting, has been utterly superb on the road. Prior to last night the Sox had the best road earned-run average in the American League (4.06; the second-best team, Minnesota, was at 4.29) and also led in batting average allowed (.251) and OPS (on base plus slugging) allowed (.714) on the road. Their road WHIP -- Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched -- of 1.31 is also a league-best.

But you can't win if you don't score, or at least don't score enough. And the '04 Sox didn't score enough to avoid posting an 18-23 road record in the first half.

These are numbers they're going to have to improve -- and right away -- if they hope to remain a factor in the A.L. East race.

NOTES: The Sox demoted rookie third baseman Kevin Youkilis to Pawtucket prior to last night's game in order to reactivate relief pitcher Ramiro Mendoza. Mendoza, sidelined since April because of arm problems, just completed a 30-day rehabilitation assignment at Pawtucket, and under baseball's rules had to be activated or released by yesterday. Youkilis' playing time decreased after Mueller returned from knee surgery.