If you tuned into tonight’s game to watch a pitcher’s duel for the third straight night, you caught quite the opposite. The Red Sox pounded out 17 hits and 14 runs as they beat the Indians 14-9. Wily Mo Peña led the way with 4 hits and 4 RBI, including a laser beam 3 run homer. Manny Ramirez chipped in with 3 hits, including 2 homers and 4 RBI as well while Mike Lowell added 3 hits and 2 RBI.
Both starting pitchers tonight, Kason Gabbard and Cliff Lee worked easy 1-2-3 first innings. But the Red Sox managed to get to Lee for a run in the 2nd inning. Manny got the boys from Beantown on the scoreboard with a tape measure homer to center. It was measured at 481 feet, which is the third longest in the history of the Jake. Jim Thome has the longest at 511 feet. Kevin Youkilis, the only Red Sox player without a hit on the night, grounded out for the first out of the inning. Lowell followed that with a single but Lee got out of the inning by retiring Jason Varitek and Coco Crisp.
The Sox added another run in the 3rd inning. WMP led off with a single and Julio Lugo followed with a single, extending his hitting streak to 15 games. Lee got Dustin Pedroia to ground into a double play but WMP scored to make it 2-0 Sox. Lee got out off the inning as Jesse Barfield made a nice diving catch of a Big Papi line drive in short right.
Gabby worked a perfect 2nd and had retired the first batter of the 3rd inning when Franklin Gutierrez took Gabbard out of the park cutting the lead to 2-1. Gabby finished off the inning by getting Barfield to pop out and Grady Sizemore to strikeout swinging.
The away nine extended their lead in the 4th inning. Lee started out the inning by issuing walks to Manny and Youk. Lowell then hit a single loading up the bases for Tek. Tek laced a single to left that scored both Manny and Youk, giving the Sox a 4-1 lead. Lowell and Tek each advanced a base on the throw. Lee settled down and didn’t allow anymore to cross the plate in the inning as he got Crisp, WMP and Lugo out.
After the Sox watched Gabby work another perfect inning in the 4th, they came out swinging in the 5th. Pedroia led off the inning with a single and went to second when Lee walked Big Papi. Manny brought in his third run of the night as he crushed a double to left. With runners now on second and third, Youk hit a grounder that Jhonny Peralta made an error on. This loaded up the bases for Lowell and he didn’t disappoint the Fenway Faithful in Cleveland. He hit a single that scored Manny and Big Papi making it 7-1 Red Sox. Lowell’s single also chased Lee from the game. Jason Stanford took over and got Tek to ground into a double play with Youk moving to third base. Coco brought in Youk with a single and WMP followed with a double on a fastball that scored Coco and gave the Red Sox a commanding 9-1 lead or so we thought. Stanford got out of the inning when Lugo flew out.
Gabbard, who had been excellent so far in the game, came totally unglued at the seams in the 5th. He got Ryan Garko to fly out for the out of the inning. Then he walked Peralta and Jason Michaels hit a single. Gabby rebounded to get Gutierrez for the second out of the inning. Barfield pulled the Tribe closer as he hit a double to deep left center that scored Peralta and Michaels. Sizemore brought in the 4th run of the night for the Indians as he hit a single scoring Barfield. Gabby’s control issues then came back as he issued walks to Casey Blake and Victor Martinez, loading up the bases for a man who you don’t want to face with the bases loaded usually, Travis Hafner. Gabby took the bat out of Hafner’s hands as he plunked him, bringing in another run and cutting the Sox lead to 9-5. The HBP also ended Gabby’s night as Terry Francona called for Yo-Yo Tavarez out of the bullpen. Yo-Yo came in and got Garko to fly out to Coco leaving the bases juiced.
Boston put more distance between themselves and the Indians in the 7th. Stanford got Lowell to strikeout leading off. Varitek followed with a single and Coco moved him over to second with a single of his own. Indians manager Eric Wedge then went to his bullpen to bring in a righty, Tom Mastny, to face WMP. Well Wedge probably wishes he didn’t as WMP hit a laser beam 3-run homer to left center, making it 12-5 Sox. Mastny settled down and got Lugo to fly out and Pedroia to strikeout swinging to end the inning.
The Erie warriors got right back into the game though in their half of the 7th. Barfield started out the inning as he reached on a Lugo throwing error. Yo-Yo then got the first two outs of the inning but then walked Martinez. Hafter, 0 for his last 21, followed that with a single, easily scoring Barfield from second. Yo-Yo then left a pitch out over the plate to Garko and Garko crushed it for a 3-run homer, making it a ballgame again at 12-9 Red Sox. Yo-Yo got out of the inning as he got Peralta to ground back to him. Yo-Yo made another one of those crazy throws as he tried to bounce the ball to Youk. Youk was able to keep his foot on the bag for the third out.
Big Papi led off the 8th inning with a walk from Mastny. Wedge went to his bullpen and summoned Jensen Lewis. Manny rudely greeted Lewis as he took a fastball and planted it in the seats for a 2-run homer and a 14-9 Sox lead. Lewis settled back in and got out of the inning as he retired Youk, Lowell and Varitek.
Hideki Okajima and Javier Lopez worked the last two innings and closed it out for the Sox. The win would go to Yo-Yo as Gabby didn’t pitch the required 5 innings needed for a win.
With the win, the Sox lead goes back to 7.5 games in the AL East as the Yankees got beat in Kansas City. The Sox are now off to the Trop in Tampa Bay where they will hand the ball to Tim Wakefield. Wake will be looking for his 12th win of the season and will be trying to go 8-0 in his career at the Trop.
