Boston is, to put it mildly, a complete mess. And the Indians are loving it.
On a chilly Wednesday night at Progressive Field, the Tribe won its 3rd straight game at the expense of the Red Sox who are now 0-5.
Cleveland raced out to an early lead when Shin-Soo Choo launched a 2-run homer to right-center in the bottom of the 1st inning.
A blooper and a pair of well-placed squibbers enabled the Sox to tie the score in the 2nd, but Mitch Talbot, the Indians starting pitcher, succeeded in minimizing the damage.
The Tribe reclaimed the lead in the home half of the 3rd off of Boston hurler Daisuke Matsuzaka, the eventual losing pitcher. Matt LaPorta singled, Michael Brantley walked, and Asdrubal Cabrera floated a RBI single over the infield and into left-center.
Due to control problems, Talbot only worked 4 1/3 frames, but the bullpen cleaned up Talbot's 5th inning mess and never allowed Boston to mount a serious comeback in the late stages of the contest.
In the 6th, the Red Sox came apart at the seams. Dennys Reyes hit 2 batters and walked another to load the bases with nobody out, and Boston was in a jam. Dan Wheeler replaced Reyes and got Brantley to hit a soft liner to 3rd base. However, Kevin Youkilis dropped the ball, setting in motion the craziest play of the season. Youkilis stepped on 3rd for 1 out and then threw home to complete what should have been a routine double play. But because Youkilis had stepped on the bag, there was no longer a force out at the plate. Therefore, Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek needed to tag Travis Buck, but Varitek suffered a mental breakdown, allowing Buck to score standing. The next batter, Asdrubal Cabrera, lofted a 3-run homer to the seats in right, and the Sox were a beaten team.
The 2 clubs traded long balls in the fnal innings as Adrian Gonzales blasted a 2-run shot and LaPorta, a solo bomb.
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| The Indians celebrate their 3rd consecutive W |
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