Ryan Dempster (2-5, 4.69 ERA) got the ball to start the top of the first and Michael Bourn looked at strike three to begin the game. Jason Kipnis singled but Asdrubal Cabrera popped up to left. Michael Brantley flied out to the left field wall to end the inning. The Sox did nothing against Cleveland starter Zach McAllister in the bottom of the first as Jacoby Ellsbury whiffed to start. Daniel Nava singled but Dustin Pedroia popped up to second. David Ortiz also popped up to second to end the inning.
The Indians struck first as Carlos Santana (no relation to the guitar player) caught Will Middlebrooks asleep at third base and reached on a bunt single to lead off the top of the 2nd inning. Mark Reynolds walked but Yan Gomes struck out. Old friend Mike Avilies flied out but Drew Stubbs did what no Sox player has done consistently recently and that is to get a clutch hit. Stubbs doubled home the 2 runners for the quick lead. Bourn grounded out to first to end the inning but it was 2-0 Indians.
Mike Napoli singled and Jarrod Saltalmacchia walked to lead off the bottom of the third but failed to score thanks to a Middlebrooks strikeout. Stephen "PU" Drew flied to center but Napoli took third. Mike Carp (in for the injured Shane Victorino) grounded out to end the threat.
The Indians struck again in the top of the third. Kipnis whiffed but Cabrera hit a one out single. Brantley and Santana both walked to load the bases. Reynolds singled home Cabrera and Brantley as Gomes worked another walk. Aviles beat out a double play ball to score Santana. Stubbs struck out but the Indians were up 4-0.
The Sox then showed some balls in the bottom of the third. Ellsbury caught Avilies asleep as he reached on a bunt single. Daniel Nava worked a walk and Dustin Pedroia singled....unfortunately Ellsbury was thrown out at home. It was a major miscalculation as David Ortiz then swatted a monsterous 3 run bomb to cut the lead. Napoli whiffed and Saltalamacchia lined out to short to end the inning but the Sox were back in it, 4-3.
Dempster probably wasn't headed for 5 innings but it was obvious Vigo had nothing. Bourn hit a leadoff double, Kipnis popped up but Cabrera singled home Bourn. Brantley flied out to center but Satana walked. Reynolds grounded into a force to end the inning Mortensen finished the inning but the Sox were down 5-3.
In keeping with a current theme for a while, McCallister shut down the Sox in the bottom of the fourth. Middlebrooks looked at strike three before PU Drew grounded out to short. Carp grounded out to second to end the inning.
Pedro Ciriaco replaced Middlebrooks in the field for the top of the fifth, where the Indians scored again. Gomes flied out to left but Mortensen couldn't throw out Avilies on a swinging bunt. Stubbs flied out to right but once again the Sox inability to throw out runners bit them as Aviles stole second. Bourn then singled home Mike to extend the lead. Anyone else notice opponents seem to be doing their damage with 2 out? Kipnis flied to center to end the inning but it was 6-3 Indians.
Ellsbury watched strike three go by to begin the bottom of the fifth but Nava drew a walk. Pedroia flied out to center but Nava took second on a wild pitch. Ortiz grounded out to third to end the inning,
The Tribe chased Vigo in the top of the sixth when Cabrera walked, Brantley singled and Santana walked as well to load the bases with nobody out. Alex Wilson relieved Vigo and gave up a single to Reynolds that scored Cabrera. Napoli dropped a pop up by Gomes who responded by doubling home 2 more runners. Avilies popped up to second but Stubbs tripled home everyone. A Bourn single wrapped up the scoring as the Indians put 6 runs on the board. Kipnis and Cabrera both struck out but it was now 12-3 Indians. Goodnight Red Sox.
With the game well in hand, Cord Phelps replaced kipnis and Cody Allen took over on the mound for the bottom of the sixth. The only highlight was NESN cameras catching a fan taking forever to blow up a beach ball only for alert Fenway security to seize the beach ball and wrestle it to the ground. Apart from that, Napoli and Saltalamacchia both struck out before Ciriaco flied out to right to end the inning.
Craig Breslow took over on the mound in the top of the seventh and Brantley lined out to short to start. Santana walked and Reynolds singled, but Gomes banged into a double play to end the inning. Scott Barnes replaced Cody Allen and got PU Drew to fly out to center to start the bottom of the seventh. Carp whiffed and Ellsbury grounded out to the mound to end the inning,
Junichi Tazawa took over for the top of the eighth and got Avilies to ground out to short. Stubbs doubled to left but Bourn grounded back to the mound. Phelps grounded out to second to end the inning.
The miserable night continued for the Sox in the bottom of the eighth. Nava singled but Pedroia struck out. Ryan Lavarnway pinch hit for Ortiz and doubled. Napoli whiffed and Saltalamacchia lined out to third to end the inning.
Andrew Miller got the call to pitch the top of the ninth and struck out Cabrera to start. Brantley watched strike three go by and Santana grounded out to short to end the inning. The night finally ended in the bottom of the ninth as Ciriaco whiffed to start. PU Drew grounded out to second and Carp grounded back to the mound to end the game. The Indians had won it 12-3.
On a game like this where bawful occurred all over the place, the Jackass of the Night is a tough one. Ultimately, its Vigo Mortensen. Mortensen took over a game that was 4 to 3 and gave up 5 runs in just 2 innings. If he was able to hold the fort, maybe the offense could have scored the tying run at some point.
The Good:
Daniel Nava was 2 for 2 with 2 walks and a run scored.
David Ortiz was 1 for 3 with a 3 run home run.
Ryan Lavarnway doubled as a pinch hitter.
Craig Breslow pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Andrew Miller pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Will Middlebrooks was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts.
Pedro Ciriaco was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Stephen Drew was 0 for 4.
Mike Carp was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Ryan Dempster got lit up for 4 runs in just 3 innings before being pulled.
Alex Wilson gave up 3 runs in just 1 inning.
The Ugly:
Jacoby Ellsbury was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 4 with a run scored.
Mike Napoli was just 1 for 4 with an error and a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Jarrod Saltalacmacchia was 0 for 3 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
Oh that was very bad. Another horrible loss where nothing goes right. Dempster pitched like absolute crap but so did Mortensen and Wilson. Dempster drops to 2-5 on the season with a hideous 4.69 ERA. All in all the Indians worked EIGHT walks, the Red Sox as a team had 7 hits. Truly pathetic. Worse news is Shane Victorino is hurt again and Middlebrooks is hobbled as well. David Ross comes off the concussion list tomorrow so some changes are going to be made within 24 hours. Rumor has it that Ryan Lavarnway is going back to Pawtucket to make room for Ross. At least Ryan got a hit in his last at bat. The loss drops the Sox to 28-20, a game behind the idle Yankees. They can't keep losing games like this if they want to compete in the division. They need a few 3-5 game win streaks to keep momentum going. John Lackey (2-4) looks to stem the tide tomorrow in yet another rain soaked game (potentially anyway) against old friend Justin Masterson. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park
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