Bad Signs Red Sox Prospects Grim With Shaky Wakefield On Mound For Game 3 And Big Stars Hitless

The Red Sox are not exactly carrying a wave of momentum with them back to Boston, where tonight they hope to avoid a three-game sweep from the playoffs that would soil what has been a remarkable season.

They are down 0-2 in the best-of-five series against the Cleveland Indians, their sluggers, Jose Canseco and Mo Vaughn, haven’t sniffed a hit in 20 at-bats, and in Game 3 the team will start a pitcher who finished the year by losing seven of his last nine decisions.

Tim Wakefield, he of the dancing knuckleball, could be Boston’s last hope of slowing down the Indians’ charge to the American League championship series. But to do so, he must recapture his form from earlier in the year when he was virtually untouchable and challenging the Seattle Mariners’ Randy Johnson for the Cy Young Award.

“Personally, I’m looking forward to the challenge that’s coming up,” Wakefield said. “I think my knuckleball will be moving as well as it has been moving all year.”

If it does, the Red Sox might have a chance at Fenway Park. But lately Wakefield’s knuckler has looked the size of a softball to most hitters. After an impressive 14-1 start with a league-leading 1.65 earned run average in his first 17 outings, Wakefield was 2-7 in his last 10 starts with an ERA of 4.73.

When things were going well, Wakefield, a free-agent acquisition who was released by the Pittsburgh Pirates during spring training, won 10 straight games. But he enters Friday night’s crucial contest struggling with his command, having walked 31 in his last 10 games, as opposed to 37 in his first 17.

Still, Wakefield, who was 2-0 for the Pirates in the National League Championship Series against the Braves in 1992, remains confident.

“Personally, I really felt I didn’t struggle the last month of September,” he said. “I threw a bunch of losses up there, but I felt personally that I had really good stuff. I did my job as a starter. I kept my team in the game, and I gave the club six or seven innings every time out. By no means was it any indication what it was like a couple of years ago.”