Rats, Bedard take control

The Rats took a 3-2 series lead against Vancouver yesterday with an 8-2 romp over the Morris Division winners. Erik Bedard was masterful, pitching 7.2 innings and holding the Fist to only 2 runs on 4 hits and striking out 12. Meanwhile, Jake Peavy was pummeled for 7 runs, 4 earned, in 5 innings. Jim Thome led the offense with a 2-4 night with 3 RBIs. David Ortiz hit two homers on the losing side but there was no one on base for him to drive in as the rest of the squad combined for only 3 hits. Vancouver will send Ben Sheets to the mound for game 6, while the Rats return with A.J. Burnett.