After falling behind 3-0, the Red Sox came storming back and scored at least one run in every inning from the third through the eighth to rout the Cleveland Indians 12-5 in the first game of a brief homestand.
J.D. Martinez hit two homers and Sandy Leon hit a three-run shot as the Sox pounded out 13 hits. Jackie Bradley Jr. added two run-scoring, opposite field doubles.
Rick Porcello evened his record at 4-4, pitching into the seven inning.
WHO: Red Sox vs. Cleveland Indians
WHEN: 4:10 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Rick Porcello (3-4, 4.45) vs. RHP Jefry Rodriguez (1-4, 4.08)
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93.7 FM
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
6:29 Strange homer for J.D. Martinez. Ball hit the top of the bullpen wall, hit Oscar Mercado's glove on the carom, that bounced into the bullpen.
6:16 Jail break! Sandy Leon with a three-run homer into the Monster Seats and the rout is on. Red Sox have now scored nine unanswered runs.
6:05 Run-scoring double to left by Xander Bogaerts, scoring Devers. Bogaerts now tied with Mitch Moreland for the team lead in RBI with 34.
5:57 That's the seventh straight game in which Rafael Devers has at least one extra-base hit. Booming double to straightaway center scores Betts from second and Red Sox have their first lead of the afternoon. That's 28 RBI in his last 29 games for Devers.
5:52 Holt helps out in the field, too, with a diving stop of a ball headed for center field, saving a run as he throws out Mike Freeman.
5:33 Brock Holt, fresh off the IL, slaps an opposite-field single to left, tying the game.
5:23 It's been a slog for Porcello. Just one 1-2-3 innings, three walks, a hit batsman, and 70 pitches through four innings.
5:12 Strange to see an American League team bunt twice in the same game, but that's what the Indians have done here in the first four innings.
5:06 Line single to right by Mookie Betts explodes at Mecardo's feet and gets past him to the bullpen for a two-base error.
5:05 That's four stolen bases for Benintendi in the last five games.
4:38 Terrific play by Francisco Lindor at short, who fielded the ball deep in the hole, and knowing the speed of the baserunner, made the throw to get J.D. Martinez at first.
4:23 Both runs in the top of the first for Cleveland are unearned. That's four unearned runs allowed by the Sox in the last four games.
4:12 Oscar Mercado reaches on an error by Xander Bogaerts, who couldn't handle a scorching shot. Bogaerts has made three errors in the last three games and four in the last nine.
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Benintendi LF
Betts RF
Devers 3B
Martinez DH
Bogaerts SS
Chavis 1B
Holt 2B
Bradley CF
Leon C
INDIANS
Lindor SS
Mercado RF
Santana 1B
Kipnis 2B
Bauers DH
Perez C
Freeman 3B
Allen LF
Martin CF
WHAT'S UP: Coming off their road trip, the Sox are 6-6 in their last 12 and 17-8 in their last 25....The Red Sox have allowed only nine earned runs in their last four games...In the last 29 games since April 24, the Sox staff has a 3.14 ERA, fifth best in MLB, while limiting hitters to a .202 average....Over the last 28 games, Red Sox relievers have a WHIP of 1.09 and a 2.54 ERA.....The Sox have hit 45 homers in their last 24 games, third most in MLB in that time frame...They've homered in 21 of the last 24 games....The Sox have won each of their last 18 games when they score at least five runs after beginning the season 4-5 in such games....The Sox are only 5-12 in series openers....After not homer in the first 32 games, Rafael Devers has four homers in his last six games and seven in his last 20...He's produced an extra-base hit in each of his last six games, the longest streak of his career...Before this season, the last Red Sox players with such a streak at 22 or younger were Reggie Smith (1967), Carl Yastrzemski (1961), and Ted Williams (1940)….Devers is tied for second in the AL in hits (65), third in average (.330) and eighth in OBP (.393)...He's the only A.L. player with at least a .300 average, 30 RBI and five steals....In his last 27 games, Devers is hitting .377 with an OPS of 1.055....In the last 33 games, Mookie Betts has a slash line of .341/.456/.543 with 11 doubles and five homers while scoring 29 runs. He's also walked (27 times) more times than he's struck out (19)….Andrew Benintendi has three steals in his last four games....In his last five starts, Rick Porcello has allowed more than two earned runs only once....The Sox are 6-1 in Porcello's last seven starts...In those seven games, he's 3-1 with a 2.78 ERA....He also has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 37-to-7...Jason Kipnis (10-for-34, .294, one homer) has hit him well, as has Carlos Santana (12-for-44, .273, with four homers)…The Sox have never faced Cleveland starter Jefry Ramirez.
PRE-GAME NOTES:
- The Red Sox optioned Darwinzon Hernandez back to Double A Portland and activatred INF Brock Holt. Holt is in the lineup, starting at second base.
- Mitch Moreland, who took a hard grounder off his knee in Houston Sunday, is getting a day to recover, with Michael Chavis at first base.
- The Sox announced that David Price, who exited his last start after 15 pitches because of the flu, will start Tuesday, with Ryan Weber going Wednesday and Chris Sale Thursday, the latter of which will be the first game in New York.