Boston makes the most of its patchwork lineup and some heads-up play and takes the series finale with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, July 28, 2005

BY STEVEN KRASNER
Journal Sports Writer

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Boston Red Sox' lineup card, for various reasons, consisted of several Jayvees, prompting Kevin Millar to take one look at it and wonder out loud what manager Terry Francona might have been smoking when he wrote it out.

Manny Ramirez (day off) and Trot Nixon (strained oblique) were out, backup catcher Doug Mirabelli was in (Tim Wakefield started), as was rookie outfielder Adam Stern, with seldom used John Olerud at first, utilityman Alex Cora at second and Millar in left field.

The bullpen corps, which had had to piece together 7 2/3 innings the previous night, was down to a limited number of available arms.

But Wakefield gave the Red Sox just what they needed, an outstanding, deep-into-the-game performance

that helped propel Boston to a 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Tropicana Field in the rubber game of the three-game set.

Wakefield (9-9) surrendered one run -- unearned -- in 7 1/3 innings in snapping a personal three-game losing streak and improving to 12-1 with three saves and a 2.68 earned-run average in his career against the Rays.

Chad Bradford, Mike Myers and Curt Schilling, whom Francona had not wanted to use yesterday, finished up, though it got a bit hairy in the ninth.

Schilling walked pinch hitter Eduardo Perez, loading the bases with two outs, but broke Carl Crawford's bat for a game-ending grounder to first base as he claimed his third save in four chances, enabling Boston to finish its road trip with a 4-3 record.

There were others who chipped in for the win, too, some more noticeably than others. Cora, for instance, blasted his first homer for the Sox, a shot to right off hard-throwing starter Seth McClung that snapped a 1-1 tie in the fifth.

Just as important was heads-up baserunning by Edgar Renteria in stealing a run in the sixth. The Red Sox shortstop tagged up and went from first to second after catcher Toby Hall made a sprawling catch of David Ortiz's foul popup. He raced to third on a short passed ball and romped home on a sacrifice fly by Olerud.

"I saw the catcher looking for the ball and when he went for the ball, I saw that he was going to have to make a diving catch," said Renteria. "That's when I went back to the bag, put it in my mind to tag. When he caught the ball I went to second. You can do many things to help win a game."

"Was that beautiful baseball? That's just knowing how to play the game," said Francona.

Cora, obtained from Cleveland on July 7, also played a little small ball, moving a runner from second to third with none out on a grounder to second. Even though it didn't pay off in a run, it was a professional play that was appreciated in the Sox' clubhouse.

"It's good to hit a home run, but the type of player I am, I have to do other things. That's what I'm here for, to do the little things," said Cora.

"Did you see that swing of his (on the move-him-up grounder)? That's the way to play," said Francona. "We did some little things today that made the game in our favor."

One big thing was the performance by Wakefield. The knuckleballer had been struggling with the long ball in his recent outings, but yesterday he had the Rays popping up a lot.

Indeed, it was three popups in the fourth, after Tampa Bay had tied the game at 1-1 on two singles and a passed ball, that helped Wakefield get into a rhythm. He allowed one hit and two walks the rest of the way.

Most importantly, was Wakefield's timing for a good outing, given the bullpen fatigue behind him.

"He was outstanding, first of all, and it was much needed," said Francona. "We didn't have an abundance of arms (in the bullpen). He knew what we needed. He sort of has a knack for being able to do that. He understands his responsibility probably better than anyone I've been around."

Wakefield said he tried to concentrate on just pitching his game.

"It's in the back of your head. I knew the bullpen was really taxed, but you try not to think about that and when you look up, hopefully it's late in the game," said Wakefield.

It was late enough that Francona was able to do a little mixing and matching out of the 'pen, ultimately writing a success story in the finale of the series and the road trip.