I guess new Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell was the tonic the pitching staff needed to turn things around. Jon Lester (3-0, 1.73 ERA) is back to being the ace of old and he throttled the Cleveland Indians tonight at Jacobs Field. The Sox got some timely offense and swept the Indians with a 6-3 victory, their sixth in a row.
Indians starter Zach McAllister at first had no problems with the Sox in the top of the first inning. Jacoby Ellsbury looked at strike three, Shane Victorino struck out and Dustin Pedroia watched strike three go by to end the inning. Lester also had no problem with the Indians in the bottom of the inning. Michael Brantley struck out and Asdrubal Cabrera flied out but Carlos Santana walked. Nick Swisher grounded out to end the inning.
The Sox struck first quickly in the top of the second. Mike Napoli stroked a leadoff triple and scored on the Daniel Nava single. Nava was erased at second on the force by Jonny Gomes and Jarrod Saltlamacchia popped up. Stephen Drew struck out to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0. The Indians answered in the bottom of the frame. Mark Reynolds hit a ground rule double and moved to third on the fly out by Ryan Raburn. Reynolds scored on the ground out by Mike Avilies. Cord Phelps grounded out to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
The Sox threatened in the top of the third when Pedro Ciriaco worked a leadoff walk. Pedro was erased on a force by Ellsbury and Victorino popped up. Pedroia walked and pulled off a double steal with Ellsbury. With runners on second and third....Napoli whiffed to end the inning. Lester recovered in the bottom of the third by getting Stubbs to fly out then both Brantley and Cabrera to strikeout to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the top of the fourth. Nava and Gomes struck out but Saltalamacchia pounded a home run to right to give the Sox a 2-1 lead. Drew grounded out to end the inning with the Sox back on top.
Lester kept the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Santana lined out and Swisher grounded out but Reynolds walked. Raburn grounded out to end the inning.
The Sox rallied in the top of the fifth as well. Ciraco flied out but Ellsbury doubled and Victorino singled him to third. Pedroia singled home Ellsbury and moved Shane to third. Napoli whiffed but Pedroia swiped second on the throw down. Nava was intentionally walked to load the bases but Gomes grounded out to end the inning. Still, the Sox had a 3-1 lead.
The Indians answered in the bottom of the fifth. Avilies doubled and moved to third on a groundout by Phelps. Mike scored on the groundout by Stubbs to cut the lead 3-2. Brantley watched strike three go by to end the inning.
That was it for McAllister as former Sox prospect Nick Hagadone took the mound in the top of the sixth. Saltalamacchia grounded out, Drew struck out and Ciriaco flied out to end the inning. Lester matched Nick in the bottom of the sixth. Cabrera caught the Sox napping with a bunt single but Santana bounced into a double play. Swisher lined out to center to end the inning.
The Sox came out swinging in the seventh. Ellsbury singled to chase Hagadone, Bryan Shaw replacing him. Phelps went OLE! on a ground ball by Victorino and he reached first. Ellsbury took third on the fly out by Pedroia and scored when Napoli singled, advanced Shane to third as well. Nava hit a sac fly that scored Victorino and advanced Napoli to second. Mike Carp pinch hit for Gomes and singled home Napoli, taking second on the throw home. Saltalamacchia struck out but it was now 6-2 Red Sox.
With a commanding lead, Lester put the nail in the coffin in the bottom of the seventh. Reynolds lined out, Raburn grounded out and Avilies struck out to end the inning. Outstanding start for Lester, going 7 innings and tossing 2 run ball.
Shaw returned for the top of the eighth and cruised. Drew lined out, Ciriaco struck out and Ellsbury grounded out to end the inning. Andrew Miller got the ball in the bottom of the eighth and nearly gagged the lead. Phelps struck out but Stubbs walked. Brantley singled and both runners moved over on the ground out by Cabrera. That was it for Miller as Koji Uehara came in and was greeted by a Santana double that cleared the bases and cut the lead 6-3. Swisher struck out to end the inning, nice relief fellas....ugh.
Chris Perez took over for the top of the ninth. Victorino struck out then both Pedroia and Napoli lined out to end the ining. Sox closer Andrew Bailey got the call in the bottom of the ninth to close it out. Reynolds struck out, Raburn hit one up the elevator shaft and Avilies grounded out to end the game. The Sox had swept the Indians and took the game 6-3.
Hero of the Night is Jon Lester. With everybody contributing on offense, his 7 innings of 2 run ball made it all count to win the game. He improved to 3-0 on the season.
The Good:
Jacoby Ellsbury was 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored and a stolen base. Mike Napoli was 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored and an rbi. Daniel Nava was 1 for 2 with a walk and 2 rbi's. Mike Carp pinch hit for Gomes and singled in a run. Andrew Bailey earned his 2nd save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Jonny Gomes was 0 for 3 with a strikeout. Stephen Drew was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. Andrew Miller was charged with an earned run in the bottom of the eighth.
The Ugly:
Shane Victorino was just 1 for 5 but scored a run. Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 4 but walked and drove in a run. Jarrod Saltalamacchia was just 1 for 4 with a run scored and an rbi. Pedro Ciriaco was 0 for 3 but walked. Koji Uehara allowed 2 inherited runners to score but got the final out of the eighth.
Final Thoughts:
That was impressive. They walked into Cleveland and wiped them out in 3 straight games. The first game was a blowout but the final two games were relatively close. It was great to see Andrew Bailey step back into the closer's role after Joel Hanrahan went down. The Sox are winning in every which way which is a breath of fresh air after last season's mess. Tomorrow night the Boston Red Sox make their first appearance back at Fenway Park since they left for Cleveland. Clay Buchholz takes the mound against the Kansas City Royals.
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