Tomlin got the ball in the top of the first and Jacoby Ellsbury grounded out to second to start. Carl Crawford struck out swinging and Dustin Pedroia struck out looking to end the inning.. In the bottom of the first, Michael Brantley led the game off with a double to right but Beckett struck out Asdrubal Cabrera swinging. Sin Soo Choo flied out to center and Carlos Santana (not the famous musician) flied out to right to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the second although Adrian Gonzalez grounded out to first to start. Kevin Youkilis grounded back to the mound but David Ortiz walked. JD Drew doubled to right and in came Jared Saltalamacchia who was 0-10 over the weekend. Jarrod poked one through the right to score Ortiz. Drew challenged Choo's arm and was gunned down at home to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Beckett cruised in the bottom of the second as Travis Hafner flied out to right to start. Old pal Orlando Cabrera grounded out to second and Austin Kearns flied out to right to end the inning.
Marco Scutaro began the top of the third with a ground out to third. Ellsbury took strike three and Crawford grounded out to first to end the inning. In the bottom of the third Matt Laporta led off with a ground out to third. Jack Hannahan popped up to short after a 7 pitch at bat then Brantley walked on an 8 pitch at bat. Brantley took off to second but Saltalamacchia threw the ball into centerfield sending Brantley to third. On Beckett's 30th pitch of the inning he walked Asdrubal Cabrera. Cabrera took off for second and got no throw, another stolen base for the Indians. With runners on second and third and his pitch count at 60, Beckett struck out Choo swinging to end the inning.
Pedroia singled to center to lead off the top of the fourth but Gonzalez banged into a double play to end that threat. Youkilis walked but Ortiz flied out to left to end the inning, The Indians finally got to Beckett in the bottom of the fourth although Santana struck out swinging to start. Hafner doubled to right and Orlando Cabrera singled him home to tie the game. Kearns walked but Laporta struck out swinging. Hannahan lined a base hit to right to score Cabrera and give the Indians the lead. Brantley flied out to left to end the inning but the Indians were up for good 2-1.
Tomlin only grew stronger, getting Drew to ground out to begin the top of the fifth. Saltalamacchia walked but Scutaro grounded into a double play to end the frame. The Indians put the Sox even further behind in the bottom of the fifth as Asdrubal Cabrera doubled to left, was moved to third on a groundout by Choo, then scored on the sac fly by Santana. Hafner walked but on Beckett's 106th pitch Cabrera grounded out. It took Beckett 106 pitches to record 15 outs and left trailing 3-1.
Tomlin remained red hot in the top of the sixth as Ellsbury grounded out to first to start. Crawford flied out to center and Pedroia popped up to short to end the inning. Matt Albers replaced Beckett for the bottom of the sixth and Kearns whiffed to start. Laporta walked and stole second on when Hannahan was caught looking. Brantley also took strike three to end the inning.
The top of the seventh started well when Gonzalez reached on an error when Tomlin booted the ground ball. Then Youkilis grounded into a force and Ortiz flied out to center. Drew flied out to left to end the inning. Tomlin finished with 7 innings, 3 hits, 1 earned run. Bobby Jenks came in for the bottom of the seventh and Asdrubal Cabrera took strike three to start. Choo struck out swinging but Santana walked. Hafner took strike three to end the inning.
Tony Sipp replaced Tomlin for the top of the eighth and Jed Lowrie pinch hit for Saltalamacchia. Lowrie popped up to first and Scutaro flied out to center. Ellsbury flied out to left to end the inning. Lowrie moved to shortstop and Jason Varitek came in for Saltalamacchia for the bottom of the eighth. Daniel Bard took the mound, rebounding from his opening day stinkeroo by getting Orlando Cabrera to ground out to short. Kearns and Laporta both went down hacking to end the inning. The Sox bullpen had struck out 8 of 9 batters since taking over from Beckett, impressive.
The Sox tried to rally in the top of the ninth against Chris Perez but Crawford didn't help by popping up to left to lead off the inning. Pedroia singled to left but Gonzalez flied out to left. Youkilis worked a walk to bring Ortiz to the plate with a chance to tie the game or better. Youk took second on defensive indifference but Ortiz lined out to left to end the game. The Indians had won it 3-1.
Jackass of the Night is Adrian Gonzalez. He was 0 for 4 and left two men on in a close game.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 4.
Kevin Youkilis walked twice in four plate appearances.
JD Drew was 1 for 3.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 1 for 1 with an rbi and a walk.
Matt Albers pitched a scoreless sixth inning.
Bobby Jenks pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Daniel Bard pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Jacoby Ellsbury was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Carl Crawford was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Jed Lowrie was 0 for 1 at the plate.
Marco Scutaro was 0 for 3.
Josh Beckett took the loss by allowing 3 runs in just 5 innings of work.
The Ugly:
David Ortiz was 0 for 3 but walked and scored.
Honorable Mention:
Jason Varitek caught the bottom of the eighth.
Final Thoughts:
Guess the weather needs to improve in order for the Boston Red Sox to score some runs. With gametime temperatures ranging from 38-42 degrees, this was more suited for a Cleveland Browns/New England Patriots game. Being held to 4 hits is inexcusable with an offense this good but the good news is its very early in the season. This offense is too good not to produce over the course of the season so its not that worrisome. What IS worrisome is the pitching, especially if Clay Buchholz gets hurt and Josh Beckett can't recover from last season's injury. Beckett didn't pitch that badly but it was still a far cry from his younger days. Still, the season is early so there's time for Beckett to turn it around too. There's 158 games left in the season so this is no time to panic. The Sox look to rebound tomorrow night against the Indians when Daisuke Matsuzaka makes his season debut against Mitch Talbot. The game begins at 8:05 PM at Progressive Field.
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