Before leaving for Boston Monday, I told the boss that I brought my raincoat to protect myself during the champagne celebration.

Josh Beckett vs. Zach Jackson. It's in the bag.

The bag leaked.

Cleveland's 4-3 win was a case of what can happen in baseball. Your ace makes a few bad pitches, some bloops drop in, and a ball hits the umpire. You lose.

"The game never ceases to amaze you," outfielder Jason Bay said. "You see something new on the field every day."

Bay would have scored on Jeff Bailey's hit in the sixth inning, if it did not hit the third base umpire. Instead, he was tagged out in a rundown. See the game story for details.

And if the ball did not hit the ump, Bailey would have had a double.

It would not have been the first double Bailey hit off of Jackson.

When Bailey was with the Portland Sea Dogs in 2005, he doubled off Jackson. It was June 1, and Jackson was making his Double-A debut with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Jackson was a Blue Jays first-round draft pick out of Texas A&M in 2004).

Jackson pitched 8 innings that day in Manchester, with Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi in attendance, giving up only five hits and 1 run. Still, Toronto traded him at the end of the year to Milwaukee in the Lyle Overbey deal.

Then Jackson got dealt this year to Cleveland in the C.C. Sabathia trade.

Then he beat the Red Sox on a night they wanted to celebrate.

Jackson was not the only Indians pitcher on the mound Monday with experience against the Sea Dogs. Jensen Lewis, who got the save, started Game 4 of the 2006 Eastern League championship at Hadlock Field. Lewis got a no decision in Akron's win (Portland won Game 5 and the title).

As for the Red Sox on Monday, Beckett pitched okay. "I gave up three hard hit balls. Can't really complain about that. They put some other balls where people weren't."

Beckett (Sea Dogs Class of '01) hit two batters, Ryan Garko and Kelly Shoppach, in one inning. He expressed his displeasure at Garko, who seemed to lean into Beckett's pitch. But Shoppach (Sea Dogs, '03) also did little to get out of the way.

Still, Beckett kept Boston in the game, but the Red Sox continued to strand runners. With Mike Lowell (hip) and J.D. Drew (back) ailing, the lineup has some holes. Right fielder Mark Kotsay (Sea Dogs, '97) went 0-for-4 Monday and is batting .191 (12-for-63) in his last 16 games.

So no champagne on Monday.

Maybe today.

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