After solo homer to first hitter, Fister shuts down Indians the rest of the way

CLEVELAND - A mere three pitches in, the night was off to inauspicious start.

“I threw a bad curveball and (Francisco Lindor) made me pay,’’ said Red Sox starter Doug Fister, recounting the solo homer he allowed to the first batter he faced. “That kind of knocks you back in line a little bit and kind of puts you back where you need to be. For me, I started to switch things up and have a different game plan.’’

But talk about adjustments. No one – least of all Fister himself – could have known that that would represent the only hit he allowed the entire night.  Following the homer, Fister tossed nine no-hit innings, while retiring the final 14 hitters he faced in succession as the Red Sox smoked the Cleveland Indians, 9-1.

Nor could Lindor have known that, as he trotted around second base, it would be the last time the Indians would have a runner in scoring position.

Fister allowed only one batter to reach after the second inning in recording his first complete-game one-hitter of his career and the first thrown by a Red Sox pitcher since Jon Lester on May 10, 2013 against Oakland.

“He was outstanding,’’ gushed John Farrell.  “(He threw) four (different) pitches for strikes tonight and when they did a get man on, he was able to induce a groundball double play on a couple occasions. I think he pitched out of the stretch on three occasions. It was an impressive outing.’’

And one the Red Sox needed after a disheartening loss Monday in the series opener and a short bullpen, with Matt Barnes on the DL and both Joe Kelly and Brandon Workman unavailable.

Fister never lights up a radar gun or overpowers hitters. Instead, he picks at corners, gets his fastball to sink and keeps hitters off-balance.

“He stayed out of the middle of the plate,’’ Farrell said. “When you think about the number of sinkers he was able to bring back in over the outside edge to some righthanders and when he ran some sinkers in on their hands, he made the plate (seem) wide based on his ability to throw his fastball to both sides (of the plate). Plus, he had a good cutter to go to, and a curveball.

“On a night when we needed a starter to go deep, he gave it to us. (He allowed) another day of rest for some of the guys in the bullpen.’’

Fister wasn’t unknown to the Indians. Tuesday night marked the third time in the last 22 days he’s started against them, and when Fister pitched for the Tigers, he saw the Indians often within the A.L. Central.

It was only eight days ago that the same Indians lineup cuffed him around for five runs on seven hits in just 4.1 innings.

“A lot of comes down to execution,’’ said Fister. “They know what I do and I know what they do and it just comes down to getting the pitch in the right location and tonight I was able to get the job done.’’

By the ninth, with his pitch count at 102, Fister came out to finish the job. He had an eight-run cushion, but having come so far, he wanted to finish off the one-hitter. Yandy Diaz drove a ball to the warning track in right, which Mookie Betts tracked.

“It was kind of a sigh of relief once he caught it,’’ acknowledged Fister. “I thought maybe he was going to have to play it off the wall.  I was kind of holding my breath.’’

Kind of like the Red Sox, three pitches into Fister’s night.