Boston starter Tim Wakefield and catcher Josh Bard miss connections in a romp by Cleveland.

01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, April 27, 2006

BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer

CLEVELAND -- There must be a method to the madness.

Eventually, Red Sox catcher Josh Bard will get comfortable as Tim Wakefield's batterymate, but for now the knuckleball is getting the better of him. Bard was charged with four passed balls last night -- two accounting for runs -- as Boston dropped a 7-1 decision to the Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field.

Outfielder Wily Mo Pena hit his second home run of the season to account for Boston's run.

Wakefield, making his fifth start of the season, is pitching to a new catcher this year because his longtime personal batterymate, Doug Mirabelli, was traded during the winter. Bard's struggles have continued since spring training, but the new partnership is working on improving.

"It's not easy, but Josh is doing a great job," said Wakefield. "I'm very comfortable with him back there. I think everybody should get off of him for a little while."

Bard has a total of 10 passed balls in six games -- he caught Lenny DiNardo on Saturday in Toronto after Jason Varitek caught 12 innings Friday night -- this season. Prior to coming to the Red Sox, Bard was charged with just nine passed balls in 152 major-league games and never committed more than one in a game.

Wakefield "is a professional guy, and he believes in me," said Bard. "I believe in me. We'll get through this thing."

Former Red Sox catcher Mike MacFarlane had 26 passed balls in 1995, but he played in 111 games that season. Varitek had 25 in 1999. Barring unforseen circumstances, Bard likely will be limited to playing only when Wakefield toes the rubber.

"Unfortunately for us tonight, (passed balls) came at inopportune times," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "I thought the first couple of innings (Bard) handled it pretty well. We ran into a bump in the road, and it seems when that happens he starts fighting himself a little bit. He is so conscientious and he's trying so hard."

Even Mirabelli had his problems catching the knuckleball early in his tenure with Wakefield. In fact, during his four-plus seasons in Boston, Mirabelli had 49 passed balls (6, 10, 14, 13 and 6, respectively), with the majority of them coming with Wakefield on the mound.

Kelly Shoppach, a former Red Sox catching prospect and current backup for Cleveland, said recently it's not something you learn overnight. Before Shoppach was traded to the Indians last January, he was working on catching the knuckler since Mirabelli's departure during the offseason seemed to open the door for him. He realizes how difficult a job it is.

"Josh will be just fine," said Shoppach. "Look how long it took Mirabelli to get comfortable."

Wakefield also struggled last night, allowing the Indians to take a 3-0 lead in the first inning when he surrendered a three-run homer to Jhonny Peralta. The knuckleballer settled down after that, and he retired nine of the next 10 batters.

Pena hit just his second home run of the season, in the fourth, before the Indians pushed their fourth run across in the bottom of the inning. Wakefield walked Victor Martinez leading off before Bard was charged with his first passed ball of the game. Martinez reached third on Ronnie Belliard's single to left and later scored on Bard's second passed ball, giving Cleveland a 4-1 lead.

Bard had his third passed ball in the fifth, but that one didn't factor into the scoring. In the sixth, however, Martinez led off with a single, reached second on the fourth passed ball and later scored on Aaron Boone's RBI double for a 5-1 lead.

Wakefield was done after 5 2/3 innings, allowing five runs (three earned), with four walks and three strikeouts. Reliever Julian Tavarez retired the four batters he faced before Manny Delcarmen made his 2006 debut in the eighth inning and surrendered two runs on four hits.

jmcdonal@projo.com / (401) 277-7340