It's hard to imagine a worse night for the Red Sox: their best pitcher was lit up for seven runs in his shortest outing in almost two years and their best player left the game with an injury.
Chris Sale was shelled for seven hits and seven runs (six earned) and the bullpen couldn't stop the carnage either, producing a 13-6 loss. The defeat was their most lopsided since they lost by nine runs to Tampa Bay on May 14. The loss marked the second time this month that the ace lefty was hit hard by the Cleveland Indians. They also managed seven runs against him in a 12-10 Red Sox win at Fenway on Aug. 1.
Sale had a scoreless first, but the first four hitters reached against him in the second as the Indians jumped out to a 4-0 lead. It didn't get any better in the third, with Sale uncharacteristically wild with two walks. After he yielded three more runs in the third, he didn't come back out for the fourth.
Meanwhile, right fielder Mookie Betts was removed from the game in the bottom of the seventh inning with a right knee contusion and is considered day-to-day.
The loss left the Sox with a split of the four-game series here.
Four more Red Sox relievers followed Sale to the mound, and they fared no better, combining to give up six more runs.
Mitch Moreland belted two homers and a run-scoring single, giving him four RBI.
IN-GAME OBSERVAITONS:
- And you thought the last Chris Sale start against Cleveland (seven runs on eight hits in five innings on Aug. 1) was bad; tonight's was worse. Sale was shelled for seven runs on seven hits with three walks in three innings. Some of this may be just a base of familiarity for the Indians. When Sale was pitching for the White Sox, they would see him a handful of times every year, so there's some comfort for them. Indeed, this is not a new phenomenon - Sale came into Thursday with a career ERA of 4.44 against the Tribe. But it does give you pause if the Red Sox and Indians meet in October, as they seem destined to do.
- Can't imagine a worse two nights than the last two for Hanley Ramirez. On Wednesday, he had the Golden Sombrero with four strikeouts while stranding five baserunners. Tonight isn't much better, as he's 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and another five runners stranded. It will be interesting to see how the Sox handle his playing time going forward, especially when Dustin Pedroia returns to the lineup. The Sox have to find a spot for Eduardo Nunez and it's possible they could come at the expense of Ramirez at DH.
- Mookie Betts leads all outfielders in defensive runs saved this season, and there was an example of that in the first inning. With Jose Ramirez on second base, Edwin Encarnacion hit a flare into shallow right. It appeared as though the ball was going to drop into no-man's land and score a run, but Betts came charging in, went sprawling and came up with the ball.
- The Red Sox seem to have little doubt that Cleveland ace Corey Kluber deliberately hit second baseman Eduardo Nunez with intent in the eighth inning Wednesday night, in apparent retribution for Nunez swinging out of his shoes on a 2-and-0 pitch earlier in the at-bat. "For (someone with) pinpoint control, I think that was fairly obvious, the message,'' said John Farrell.
- Dustin Pedroia and David Price had light work days at Fenway, with the anticipation that both will pick up their intensity when the club returns home Friday. The plan calls for Price to throw from 120 feet Friday, with Pedroia taking the field to do regular defensive work with teammates "and beginning more baseball activities in earnest,'' Farrell said.
- Rick Porcello carries a 4-0, 4.06 ERA run in his last four starts into Friday's outing against the Orioles. He's gotten better run support of late which helps, but he's also made some adjustments. "Things have turned in the second half for him,'' said Farrell. "He's maybe hitting his stride the past five or six weeks; it's coming at the right time.''