After losing on Monday night to the Indians and having Kevin Youkilis placed on the DL with a thumb injury (that might keep him out for the rest of the season if he needs surgery), the Red Sox needed a boost of energy or else they're done.
Last night, that came in the form of Mike Lowell who returned to the field, playing first base, and hit a two-run homer as Boston (61-46) beat Cleveland (45-62) 3-1 at Fenway Park.
Josh Beckett (3-1) had his third straight good start, actually this was his best one in a long time. He went eight innings, allowing one earned run on three hits with no walks and eight strikeouts.
Jonathan Papelbon got a 1-2-3 ninth for his 25th save of the season. He also became the first closer to get 25+ saves in his first five MLB seasons.
Lowell cranked his two-run bomb off David Huff (2-10) in the second, taking the first pitch he saw in months in the big leagues over the Monster.
Lou Marson cut it to 2-1 in the third with a solo shot and Bill Hall (2 hits) pushed across the last run in the fourth with a solo homer of his own.
Ryan Kalish continued to impress, adding two more hits out of the ninth spot in his fourth MLB game. He's hitting .538.
Things got crazy in the eighth when Indians reliever Jensen Lewis threw behind Adrian Beltre. Beckett came out of the dugout and started barking at anyone in a Cleveland uniform, especially Shelley Duncan, who he plunked earlier in the game.
Beckett, Lewis and Indians third base coach Steve Smith were all ejected. Terry Francona was fired up too, yelling at Smith. However, it was a typical baseball "fight" with both benches emptying but not much actually happening other than some pushing and name-calling.
Former Red Sox Justin Masterson takes on Jon Lester tonight at steamy Fenway.
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