Red Sox Break 5-Game Losing Streak At Fenway Park With 7-5 Win Vs. Indians

It wasn't pretty but Clay Buchholz and the Red Sox (13-19, 5-11 home) bounced back tonight from the disaster that was Josh Beckett on Thursday night as they beat the Indians 7-5 in a long (3:57), ugly game at Fenway Park.

Boston jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the fifth inning but they had to sweat it out a bit as Cleveland scored three runs in the seventh and one in the ninth before finally being subdued for good.

Buchholz (4-1) continued to benefit from stellar run support from his teammates. He actually pitched well except for the fact that he departed in the sixth with one out and the bases loaded. Cleveland (18-14, 10-4 away) was able to plate all three of those runs against Rich Hill and Andrew Miller but it could have been worse. Buchholz went 6.1 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits with no strikeouts and three walks. Bobby V left him in too long (as he's prone to do) but you can't fault him that much since the bullpen has been fried the last few weeks. Buchholz was lucky he didn't get hit harder since in 111 pitches, he only got three swings and misses.

The shell of the pitcher they call Ubaldo Jimenez (3-3) continued to suck for the Indians. He only lasted 4.1 innings, allowing seven earned runs on nine hits with four strikeouts and five walks.

Dustin Pedroia (3 for 4, 3 RBIs, run) led Boston's offense while Ryan Sweeney (2 hits, run, RBI) and Adrian Gonzalez (2 doubles) also had multiple hits. Nick Punto got a rare start at shortstop and he scored two runs.

Michael Brantley (2 hits, 2 RBIs) led four Indians with multiple hits: Jason Kipnis (2 hits, run), Travis Hafner (2 hits, RBI) and Jack Hannahan (2 hits) all had good evenings at the plate.

Santana gave the Indians a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI single but Will Middlebrooks answered with a two-run double in the home half of the first. Pedroia added a two-run double in the second then Boston scored three times in the fifth on Cody Ross's RBI double, Sweeney's RBI single and Pedroia's sacrifice fly.

Hill walked Hafner with the bases loaded in the seventh and Kipnis scored on Middlebrooks's error. Brantley had RBI singles in the seventh and ninth.

Alfredo Aceves got his first save attempt in nearly two weeks so it was no surprise that it was rocky. He had runners on first and third with one out but struck out Hannahan and retired Johnny Damon on a lazy fly ball to center for his sixth save of the season.

Felix Doubront (2-1) faces Josh Tomlin (1-2) tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) as the Red Sox try to win their second straight game for the first time in two weeks (they haven't done it yet in May).

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In 2011 Justin Masterson Is Better Than Erik Bedard, Fact

If you took a time machine back to 2006 or 2007 and said that a low-level prospect named Justin Masterson would someday be better than Erik Bedard, you would not believe it.

Welcome to real life folks where the former Red Sox middle reliever (Masterson) is better than Bedard (Boston's newest acquisition). To be fair, it is the breakout season of Masterson's career (9-7, 2.63 ERA, 121 strikeouts, 1.17 WHIP) as he's transformed himself into a front-end starter in the average AL Central.

Conversely, Bedard (4-7, 3.55 ERA, 92 strikeouts, 1.18 WHIP) does not look like a guy that the Red Sox (68-42) should trust in a pennant race but here they are.

The Indians (55-54) earned a split at Fenway Park with a 7-3 win tonight that was all about Masterson's dominance of his former teammates coupled with Bedard's uneven debut.

Masterson went six innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits with a walk and nine strikeouts (including four in the third inning). Bedard was limited to 70 pitches in his second start back from the DL. He went five innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits with no walks and five strikeouts.

To make matters worse, the Yankees swept the White Sox with a 7-2 win tonight as well meaning Boston and New York are tied atop the AL East heading into this weekend's series at Fenway.

Things started well for Boston as they got two runs in the first on an RBI double by Adrian Gonzalez (14-game hit streak) and an RBI single by David Ortiz.

From there, Cleveland took over offensively as they almost tripled the Red Sox' hit total (14-5). Carlos Santana led the Tribe with three hits and three RBIs while Travis Hafner and Kosuke Fukudome had three hits and Asdrubal Cabrera scored three runs.

Jacoby Ellsbury capped a memorable series for him (two walkoff hits) with two hits, a run and a walk.

The Indians tied it with two runs in the second on Matt LaPorta's (2 hits) infield single and a groundout by Austin Kearns.

Santana's RBI single in the third put Cleveland up 3-2 before Josh Reddick pushed across Boston's last run in the fourth with a solo home run (his fifth of the season) into the Red Sox bullpen.

Santana hit a two-run bomb off Franklin Morales (0-2) in the sixth before Hafner and Fukudome added RBI doubles in the seventh and ninth respectively.

Andrew Miller made his first appearance for the Red Sox out of the bullpen and the change of scenery didn't seem to change anything in his uneven performances. He's becoming a left-handed Dice-K which is about the worst thing I could say about the guy. In 2 2/3 innings, he threw 71 pitches and gave up two earned runs on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts. I'll cut him some slack since it was his first relief outing but he's going to have to step it up if he wants to keep his job.

With the Yankees in town, all the usual trappings are in place: Friday night game on NESN, Saturday afternoon game on Fox and Sunday night game on ESPN. It has been almost two months (June 9) since the teams last played but hopefully Boston can keep its death grip (8-1) on the season series.

The pitching matchups are Jon Lester vs. Bartolo Colon tomorrow night, John Lackey vs. CC Sabathia on Saturday and Josh Beckett vs. Freddy Garcia on Sunday. Slight edge to the Red Sox on Friday and Sunday although Colon and Garcia have been surprisingly very solid. Saturday is a layup for the Yanks since Sabathia is on fire (3 of his 5 losses this season have been to Boston). I'm excited, it's been too long since we last saw baseball's best rivalry.

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Yawn, Another Walk-Off Hit For Jacoby Ellsbury Vs. Cleveland

For a player that had never felt the joy of a walk-off hit in the majors, Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury is sure getting used to the feeling as he had his second in a row against the Cleveland Indians tonight at Fenway Park.

Whereas last night's single won it in the ninth, Ellsbury ratcheted up the excitement this evening with a solo homer (his 18th of the season) with two outs in the ninth against Cleveland (54-54) reliever Joe Smith (2-2).

As a fun footnote, the ball landed in the first row of the center field bleachers about 10 rows in front of where I was sitting with my girlfriend and other friends from college. That makes it 2-for-2 for my girlfriend and I this season in terms of Red Sox (68-41) wins of the walk-off variety in both games we've attended (also Carl Crawford's single vs. Seattle on May 1).

For the second straight outing, Tim Wakefield pitched well enough to notch his 200th career win on most nights but he got a no-decision after 6.2 innings of work. He allowed three earned runs on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts. Hey, what's another few days to MLB's oldest player (he just turned 45 yesterday)?

Indians starter Carlos Carrasco also got a no-decision. He went seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on nine hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

Dustin Pedroia, Adrian Gonzalez and Josh Reddick all had two hits as Boston outhit Cleveland by a 2-to-1 margin (10-5) overall.

David Ortiz gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the first with a two-run single which scored Gonzalez and Kevin Youkilis.

Jason Kipnis put a run up for the Tribe with a solo homer (second night in a row he's done that) in the fourth followed later by an RBI double by Travis Hafner in the same frame that tied it at two.

Ortiz scored on Marco Scutaro's fielder's choice in the fourth.

Ezequiel Carrera's ground-rule double to right scored Lonnie Chisenhall in the seventh but Ellsbury sent everyone home happy with his blast in the ninth.

Like Ellsbury, Jonathan Papelbon (4-0) had another notable performance as he picked up his second win in as many nights with a 1-2-3 ninth complete with a strikeout. The unsung hero (and who thought I'd ever say this in my life) was Randy Williams. Yes, that one. He served as the bridge between Wakefield and Papelbon, getting four very important outs including no hits and two strikeouts.

Tomorrow night's series finale is an intriguing one as Erik Bedard makes his Red Sox debut against former Boston hurler Justin Masterson (who consistently pitches well against his old team). The Red Sox will look to win the series 3-1 and gain some steam going into a huge weekend meeting with the Yankees, who sit only one game back in the AL East.

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Old friend completely shuts down Sox

If the Sox are going to lose, and in such one-sided fashion, it might as well be to a former teammate.

Justin Masterson was the main part of the trade to get Victor Martinez last summer and nobody can second-guess that lopsided deal. Still, Masterson was a likable young guy that was just started to find his way in the major leagues (see: 2007 playoffs).

Going to the wasteland that is the Cleveland Indians, he has not surprisingly fallen by the wayside and seen his career go off the tracks.

For one night, all that was forgotten as he pitched the best game of his career: a two-hit shutout, his first in MLB.

Cleveland (22-36) won 11-0 last night at Progressive Field as Masterson outdueled Clay Buchholz and the Indians tacked on eight runs in the eighth off Boof Bonser and Joe Nelson who would never be confused with Ramiro Mendoz and Mariano Rivera in their prime.

Buchholz (8-4) pitched decently: seven innings, three earned runs, three hits, four walks, one strikeout.

Boston (35-26) didn't have an answer for Masterson (2-5): two walks and six strikeouts.

The Indians got the three off Buchholz with a sacrifice fly by Jhonny Peralta in the first, a run that scored on a double play ball in the third and Peralta scored on a wild pitch in the fourth.

The shit truly hit the fan in the eighth as Bonser (4 earned runs, 2 hits, 2 walks) was miserable in his return to the big leagues. Nelson wasn't any better (1 inning, 4 earned runs, 5 hits, 3 walks, 1 strikeout) and he gave up a grand slam to Travis Hafner.

Order should be restored to the universe tonight as Jon Lester opposes Mitch Talbot, another talented lefty.