By Dave Sheinin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, October 14, 2007

BOSTON, Oct. 13 -- The Boston Red Sox are still hoping right-handed reliever Eric Gagne will become a prominent figure in their bullpen this postseason, but one messy outing and one disastrous one in the first two games of the American League Championship Series has left some question as to whether that is possible.

Gagne, the most dominant closer in baseball during the first half of this decade, has struggled since the Red Sox acquired him from the Texas Rangers in a July trade. The team had hoped he would join left-hander Hideki Okajima as the primary setup men for closer Jonathan Papelbon, but Gagne has yet to show he can do that job.

Gagne started the 11th inning in Game 2 Saturday night -- after the Red Sox had exhausted all their top bullpen options -- but could not finish his inning, departing after giving up a one-out single followed by a walk. Gagne was saddled with the loss after Trot Nixon singled home the go-ahead run off lefty Javier Lopez.

In Game 1 Friday night, in just his second appearance of the postseason, Gagne entered in the ninth inning with a 10-3 lead but loaded the bases on a single, a double and a walk. Red Sox Manager Terry Francona was forced to get Okajima and Papelbon up in the bullpen before Gagne finally escaped with his third strikeout of the inning.

"The good news is, we had a lead and he got some swing-and-misses," Francona said. "The other side of it was that he got away from that a little bit, and it caused us to get in a situation where there were men on base."

Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein said it is too soon to label Gagne a bust, pointing to Derek Lowe in 2004 as a pitcher who struggled down the stretch but wound up becoming an essential member of the team's pitching staff during the Red Sox' World Series title run.

"He's working to find some consistency," Epstein said. "He hasn't hurt us yet. Funny things happen in the postseason. Guys who are struggling, like Derek Lowe in 2004, all of a sudden get pressed into a spot, come through just one time and get on a roll.

"Obviously this guy has never really struggled since becoming a closer with the Dodgers. So this is new to him. But he's really worked hard and he hasn't shrunk from the responsibility. If you keep getting after it and keep trying to get better, there's always a chance you can contribute."

Mike Lowell, the Red Sox' third baseman and No. 5 hitter, has been the beneficiary of the base-clogging performances of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez this postseason. Entering Saturday night's Game 2, they had reached base in 29 of their combined 36 plate appearances, and Lowell had driven in six runs.

Lowell, in fact, has done that all season, hitting .324, driving in 120 runs and doing wonders for his value in the upcoming free agent market, in which he is expected to be one of the most sought-after bats -- that is, if the Red Sox let him get away.

"He knows we'd love to sign him back and we know he'd love to sign back," Epstein said. "Now is not the time to talk about those things. We've been in basic communication with his agent, expressing those things, and we agree we'll talk about it as soon as we're done playing. It will come down to years and dollars like any other negotiation, and we really hope it can work out."

Both the Red Sox and the Indians still are planning to start their fourth starters in Game 4 on Tuesday night in Cleveland -- veteran right-hander Paul Byrd for the Indians and veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield for the Red Sox.

The Red Sox created some speculation over their intentions by pulling Game 1 starter Josh Beckett after only six innings and 80 pitches, but Boston likely would not pitch him in Game 4 on short rest unless they lost both Games 2 and 3, and perhaps not even then. One reason: They want Game 2 starter Curt Schilling to have extra rest for his Game 6 start, if necessary, as opposed to his being pushed forward to Game 5.

Manny Ramirez's fifth-inning homer off Rafael Perez was the 23rd of his career in the postseason, the most in history. He had been tied with Bernie Williams atop the all-time list, although Ramirez has played in only 86 postseason games, while Williams played in 121 postseason games between 1995 and 2006.

Reggie Jackson and Mickey Mantle are tied for third on the list with 18, while Derek Jeter and Jim Thome have 17.