Red Sox Sweep Short Series From Indians

Score: Red Sox 5 Indians 3


Turning Point: Jason Varitek hit a Jensen Lewis fastball that just cleared the wall in left field to take the lead in the ninth, and that was all the runs that Boston needed.


Analysis: The Indians had Tim Wakefield on the ropes several times tonight, but they could not deliver the knock out blow. The offense continues to sputter in the clutch and leave men on base. Tonight they left eleven men on base. Someone needs to step up in the clutch or the Tribe will continue to waste golden chances to knock a starter out. Paul Byrd was great tonight. He seemed to finally get on track and he had the Boston hitters fooled all night. He allowed only one unearned run, and he struck out six, in six innings of work. The bullpen, however, is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Jorge Julio relived Byrd in the seventh with the Indians ahead 2-1. Julio threw nine pitches and eight of them were balls, to put the first to Red Sox on base. Rafael Perez came in and limited the damage to two runs, and pitched well. That gave way to Jensen Lewis, who immediately got himself into trouble, with the score tied at three. Luckily, Lewis was able to escape a bases loaded, one out jam, and not allow a run. But he returned for the ninth, and allowed the homer to Varitek. Boston tacked on an insurance run, as well.


MVP: Victor Martinez
Victor seems to be the only Indian hitting, especially tonight. Martinez was 3-5 with two RBIs on the night. He has bumped his average up to .375.


Extras:

- The Indians were outscored by the Red Sox 9-1 throughout innings 7-9 in the two game series. The Indians’ bullpen blew leads late in both games.

- Jed Lowrie, who got his first hit in the majors tonight, was an RBI machine for the Red Sox. Even though he was only 1-4, he drove in three runs.

- To honor Jackie Robinson, Grady Sizemore and CC Sabathia wore Robinson’s retired #42 during the game.

- Paul Byrd lowered his ERA from 11.05 to 6.07 during his start.


Next Up: The Indians, who have fallen four games under .500, welcome the Detroit Tigers, who are on a two game winning streak, to town tomorrow night. CC Sabathia will try to get his season on track again. Sabathia is 0-2 with an 11.57 ERA. He will face off against rookie, Armando Galarraga. Galarraga will be making his first major league start, in place of the injured Dontrelle Willis. First pitch is at 7:05 from Progressive Field.