Live Coverage: Red Sox 10, Indians 4 - Sox turn the power back on

After briefly falling behind 2-0 in the top of the first inning, the Red Sox broke out of their offensive doldrums and hammered out 14 hits -- including three homers -- in a 10-4 win over the Cleveland Indians, snapping a three-game losing streak in the process.

Xander Bogaerts cracked two solo homers and Mitch Moreland added a two-run shot, ending a drought that saw the Sox go three games without hitting a long ball.

Andrew Benintendi, however, provided the game's biggest hit -a bases-loaded double in the fourth that scored three.

Brian Johnson started, but lasted just 4.1 innings, followed by five relievers.

IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:

9:44 Second career two-homer game for Bogaerts, who has two solo shots tonight and has 80 RBI....before the end of August.

9:28 It appears the manager might know what he's talking about. After suggesting that he had seen some good signs with Moreland of late and wanted him to start using the whole field, Moreland tonight has an opposite field single and a two-run bullet into the bullpen.

8:35   Huge bases-clearing double into the left field corner by Andrew Benintendi, scoring three runs. As big as hit as the Red Sox have had in a few days.

8:24   Xander Bogaerts drove an inside breaking ball out to left for a solo homer. He's now got 18 homers and 79 RBI and we're not yet in the final week of August. Remarkably, that was the first Red Sox homer since Saturday.

8:18  Nice job by Johnson to wiggle out of trouble with first-and-second and one out -- got Greg Allen swinging and Gonzalez looking to strand both baserunners.

8:08 Mitch Moreland is 0-for-2 and is down to .253 for the season. Alex Cora said he's seeing signs the last few weeks that Moreland is coming out of his slump, and he did  hit that ball hard, up the middle, but right where second baseman Erik Gonzalez was stationed perfectly. Cora noted that Moreland's balance has been off the plate and he had gotten a bit pull happy and wasn't going the other way as much as he did earlier in the season.

7:45  Cleveland has done a nice job cutting down the Red Sox' running game in this series. The Sox have only attempted two steals -- Ian Kinsler there, and Brock Holt in the fourth inning Monday -- and have been thrown out both times.

7:21 Even when he's been on the DL, it's not a good idea to get behind Edwin Encarnacion and have to throw him a fastball. Brian Johnson did and paid dearly for it, with the slugger drilling a ball over everything in left for a 2-0 lead.

 

WHO: Red Sox vs. Cleveland Indians
WHEN: 7:10 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox find themselves in the midst of a three-game losing streak for the first time since the last week of April. They remain eight games in front of second-place New York, but have encountered something of a dry spell at the plate, scoring just eight runs in their last 35 innings and dropping the first two games of this four-game set to Cleveland. The Indians, meanwhile, keep extending their lead in the A.L. Central.
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Brian Johnson (4-3, 4.00) vs. RHP Carlos Carrasco (15-6, 3.33).
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93..7 FM

LINEUPS



RED SOX

Betts RF
Benintendi LF
Moreland 1B
Martinez DH
Bogaerts SS
Kinsler 2B
Holt 3B
Swihart C
Bradley CF

INDIANS

Lindor SS
Brantley LF
Ramirez 3B
Encarnacion 1B
Diaz DH
Guyer RF
Gomes C
Allen CF
Gonzalez 2B