There are games–losses, even–that you recall later with your head or your heart.  And then there are the games you remember with your stomach.  The Red Sox’s loss last night to the Cleveland Indians in game two of the American League Championship Series was one of those games.  It’s not that they lost, but how they lost.

The Red Sox had the lead twice, but their pitching was not able to hang onto it.  They also had their chances to win.  Kevin Youkilis fouled off 9 pitches before lining out to center field in the bottom of the ninth with the speedy Jacoby Ellsbury standing on second, waiting to score the winning run on a single.  In the bottom of the 10th, the Red Sox’s three best batters faced Cleveland’s worst reliever and went down in 15 pitches.

When Eric Gagne entered the game to pitch for Boston in the top of the 11th, I knew the Red Sox would not win.  I could feel it.  Gagne (to whom I maturely have started referring as Gag-me) once was a great closer but has been nothing short of disastrous for Boston.  Once again, he could not keep runners off the bases, and the first two runs of the 11th indeed were charged to Gagne, who picked up the loss.  Javier Lopez, however, gave up three runs, and Jon Lester surrendered two more.  By the time Gutierrez hit his three-run blast to put the Indians up by 7, I had retreated to a part of the house from which I still could hear the game but no longer could see it.

The series is tied 1-1 as it heads to Cleveland.  But if they want to move on, the Red Sox will have to get over a very tough loss pretty quickly.  And, with the entire bullpen spent from last night’s game, Daisuke Matsuzaka will need to show he is worth the $103 million the Red Sox paid for him when he takes the mound Monday.

At least it wasn’t the Yankees.