CLEVELAND -- All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 7-5 win over the Indians, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Sale still building: In his third start back since his second DL stint, Chris Sale was charged with two runs on five hits in 3.1 innings -- a line that doesn't look terribly impressive across 73 pitches. But what was important was that Sale got plenty of swings-and-misses and picked up seven strikeouts along the way, including a stretch from the first through the fourth that saw him fan six in the span of eight hitters. His fastball was still mostly 94-95, though Sale contends there's more gas available should he need it. "During the process, we're looking to build pitch count," Sale said. "I would have liked to get through (that fourth) inning. A key in this process is staying sharp and getting back to where I need to be. There's some things I still need to work on and build on, but overall, it's been going well." Sale flashed his trademark slider, which was sharp and overpowering at times. He'll go again Wednesday against Baltimore, with the goal of getting up to 90 pitches. He saw his scoreless streak -- dating back to July, thanks to two separate DL stints -- end at 35 innings when he allowed a long solo homer to Josh Donaldson, but at least Sale is tied with the legendary Pedro Martinez for the longest scoreless streak in the post-DH era. "Anytime you're in this uniform and Pedro's in the same sentence, you've got be appreciative of that,'' said Sale.
Memorable night for Travis: Two nights ago, Sam Travis ran into the wall in left field at Yankee Stadium in pursuit of a fly ball and had to come out of the game, complaining of dizziness. He was given Thursday night off, but was back in the starting lineup Friday and enjoyed the best game of his young major league career. He hit his first major league homer in leading off the third, then added a two-run double in the four-run seventh. Both balls were hit to the opposite field. "It felt amazing,'' gushed Travis, "a dream come true. It all starts with getting a good pitch and trying to hit it hard, drive it to the outfield and make something happen. It worked out for us.'' The one blight on his night: Travis badly misread a fly ball to left by Yan Gomes in the eighth -- first drifting back, then racing in before dropping the ball. "I had an atrocious read and I missed it,'' said Travis. "It won't happen again, I'll tell you that right now."
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Tying a 106-year record: For the second night in a row, a Red Sox win was of some historical significance. A night after clinching the AL East title, the Red Sox earned win No. 105, their most in a single-season since 1912, when they also won 105. "It's special," said Sale. "I think you can look back at the season and see different styles of wins and different parts of our team carrying the team at times. ... We don't take it for granted. We know where we're at and what we have ahead of us. We're enjoying it, but at the same time, we're not going to be lackadaisical and overlook it." The Sox will have eight chances in the final nine days to set a new record. "It's a testament to the entire organization," said Alex Cora. "It's gratifying. I hope we win one more before the season is over. We know we have win 11 in October, but tonight's kind of like, 'Let's take a look at this one and enjoy it.' ''
TURNING POINT
The Red Sox trailed 4-2 after six before sending 10 men to the plate in the seventh and scoring four times to take the lead for good. It was the 14th time this season that the Sox have had at least 10 plate appearances in the same inning. Six different players contributed hits, including four -- Travis, Tzu-Wei Lin, Brandon Phillips and Rafael Devers -- who weren't on the major league roster at the end of August.
TWO UP
Tzu-Wei Lin: Travis wasn't the only one who hit his first major league homer. Lin, who was Travis's roommate in the minors, his first in the top of the ninth inning, becoming the third Taiwanese-born player to hit a homer in the big leagues.
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Rafael Devers: Devers homered in the sixth and added a run-scoring single in the seventh. Devers now has 28 big league homers through his age-21 season, the third-most in franchise history behind Tony Conigliaro (84) and Ted Williams (54).
ONE DOWN
Heath Hembree: Hembree had a bad night in New York Thursday, coming into a bases-loaded jam and immediately yielding a grand slam. Friday wasn't much better: he gave up a two-run homer to the second batter he faced.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"It's not too often I've pitched here and we're standing here, shaking hands after the game."
— Sale, whose struggles against the Indians over the years have been well-documented.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- The win was the 47th come-from-behind win of the season
- The Sox improved to 51-28 record on the road.
- Brock Holt has hit safely in six straight games.
- The Red Sox used nine pitchers, tying a franchise record for most pitchers used in a nine-inning game.