CLEVELAND — A bullpen meltdown and some sloppy defense combined to do in the Red Sox Monday in the opener of their four-game showdown series with Cleveland.
Tied 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth, Brandon Workman yielded a leadoff double to Brandon Guyer. Roberto Perez then dropped down a bunt which first baseman Brock Holt fielded, and after some hesitation, threw wildly to third. As the ball squirted away, Guyer trotted home for a 5-4 Indians win.
An inning earlier, Matt Barnes began the inning and continued to suffer issues on the road, issuing a leadoff walk and a sharp single to left, giving the Indians two runners on and no out. After Heath Hembree fanned Jose Ramirez, Edwin Encarnacion lined a single to left, scoring Francisco Lindor from second with the tying run.
The teams traded homers in the first five innings, with the Red Sox holding a 4-3 edge on the scoreboard.
A batter after the Sox appealed an out call on a Mookie Betts stolen base attempt and got it overturned, Hanley
Ramirez belted a pitch halfway up the left field bleachers.
A three-run homer from Perez had given the Indians a 3-2 edge in the second. Perez drove a changeup and drove it to right center.
The Sox took a quick 2-0 lead in the first when Andrew Benintendi rocketed a line drive out to right for his 18th homer of the season.
GAME NO.: 124
WHO: Red Sox (71-52) vs Cleveland Indians (65-56)
WHEN: 7:10
WHERE: Progressive Field
TV: NESN; MLB Network
RADIO: WEEI (93.7 FM)
PITCHERS: Eduardo Rodriguez (4-3, 3.97) vs. Mike Clevinger (6-5, 3.75)
BOX SCORE: MLB Gameday
SERIES TO DATE: The two teams have played three games in Boston – separated by a couple of weeks, thanks to a rainout and a makeup date – with the Sox winning the first two and the Indians grabbing the rescheduled game. Tonight is the first of a four-game series here at Progressive Field.
WHERE THINGS STAND: Since Aug. 1, the Red Sox own the best record in the game at 14-3 (.824). They haven’t lost consecutive games since July 22-25. The Sox have also won four of their last five road games. The Indians are hot, too, winning eight of their last 10, though they lost Sunday in Kansas City. The two teams met in the ALDS last October and if the playoffs were to begin today, they would face off again in the first round.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Rodriguez was mediocre in his last outing (four runs in 5.1 innings), but in the two before that, he allowed just two runs over 12 innings. The Sox have won three of his last four outings. Edwin Encarnacion (4-for-13, one HR, three RBI) has had some success against him. Clevinger was hit around by the Sox on July 31, allowing five runs and failing to get an out in the fourth inning.
STAT OF NOTE: In three games against Cleveland, rookie Rafael Devers is 8-for-12 with two homers.
LINEUPS:
RED SOX
Nunez 2B
Betts RF
Benintendi LF
Ramirez DH
Devers 3B
Bogaerts SS
Holt 1B
Vazquez C
Bradley Jr. CF
INDIANS
Lindor SS
Jackson CF
Ramirez 2B
Encarnacion DH
Bruce RF
Santana 1B
Guyer LF
Perez C
Urshela 3B
PRE-GAME NOTES:
- Mitch Moreland was originally in the Red Sox lineup for tonight, but was scratched an hour or so later, and replaced at first base by Brock Holt. Moreland had a collision with Brett Gardner of the Yankees and suffered some whiplash. ''He went through the whole concussion protocol,'' said John Farrell. "He passed that; he's sore, but was able to get on the treadmill and run for 10-12 minutes. He passed all those tests, but at the recommendation of our medical staff, we're giving him a day to get over it.''
- Dustin Pedroia, who didn't join the team on this brief trip, went through what Farrell labeled "some functional work,'' back in Boston. "He did some change-of-direction, some lateral work,'' said Farrell, who added that Pedroia also ran on a specially designed treadmill which reduces stress. "It was a productive day for him. It's (about) loading up the knee with the work he's going through. So that's where we are right now. It's going to replicate some of the defensive work. That's being done on a gradual build-up right now.''
- David Price, who hadn't thrown since last Tuesday, threw from a distance of 60 feet at Fenway. "The last couple of days has allowed him to get ahead (of some of the stiffness) he felt,'' said Farrell, "and put a ball back in his hand.'' Price will see how he responds Tuesday before a throwing plan is mapped out.
- Doug Fister will face Cleveland for the third time in the last three weeks. "There's a lot of familiarity on both sides in a short period of time,'' acknowledged Farrell, "particularly against a team that isn't in your division. That's been a rarity. And there's been one (start) on each side of the (won-loss) ledger.'' The first time Fister faced the Indians, he limited them to two runs over 7.2 innings; the next time, they got the better of him, knocking him around for five runs on seven hits in just 4.1 innings.
- First base coach Ruben Amaro Jr. was absent from the team to attend memorial services for former Phillies catcher Darren Daulton in Clearwater, Fla. With Amaro gone, assistant hitting coach Victor Rodriguez filled in the first base coach's box.
- It was bound to happen: Eduardo Nunez is in a slump for the first time since joining the Red Sox. Nunez enjoyed a great first 2 1/2 weeks after being obtained from the Giants, adding offense to the top of the lineup and quickly matching his home total from almost four months in San Francisco in his first two weeks in Boston. But in the last week, he's slowed down at the plate. He was just 1-for-9 in the Yankee series and Farrell gave him Sunday off to give him something of a break. He's hitless in his first three at-bats here tonight, although, to be fair, he absolutely smoked a ball in the third inning, but hit it right at third baseman Giovanny Urshela. It was inevitable that Nunez hit a bit of a bump; he wasn't going to continue to hit over .400 the rest of the way.
- You shouldn't be beat by Roberto Perez. And you certainly shouldn't be beat by Roberto Perez with two men on. That's what happened to Eduardo Rodriguez in the second inning, when Perez took him deep to right-center for a three-run homer, just his second homer of the season. But sometimes, credit goes to the hitter. Rodriguez didn't throw a bad pitch - it was an 87 mph changeup, down and away, but Perez put a good swing on it and drive it out.
- Interesting stat: Ten of the last 12 homer for the Red Sox have been hit by Andrew Benintendi (five) and Rafael Devers (5).