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 On May 18, the Indians were 10 1/2 games behind first place
Detroit in the Central Division. They are now 4 1/2 games behind the
Tigers.
"Taking it day by day is the only way to dig yourself out of a hole
like that," said Cleveland manager Terry Francona. "If you look too
far ahead, it looks so daunting, so you just try to do your job day
to day."
Right fielder David Murphy started the bottom of the seventh inning
by drawing a walk off right-hander Jake Peavy (1-3). Catcher Yan
Gomes singled Murphy to second, but third baseman Mike Aviles failed
on a sacrifice bunt attempt, resulting in Murphy being thrown out at
third.
However, Bourn, Cleveland's center fielder, revived the rally by
belting a double over the head of left fielder Jonny Gomes, scoring
Yan Gomes and Aviles and giving Cleveland a 5-3 lead, which the
Indians bullpen preserved.
Bourn has been the Indians' hottest hitter during the winning
streak. He is hitting .421 (8-for-19) during the streak and is
hitting .299 for the season overall.
"I think he feels good about himself. He understands the kind of
impact he can have on our team and he's enjoying it immensely," said
Francona.
The win went to left-hander Nick Hagadone (1-1), who pitched out of
a jam in the top of the seventh. Right-hander Cody Allen got the
final four outs of the game to pick up his fifth save.
Trailing 3-1, the Red Sox cut it to 3-2 in the sixth inning, which
began with a walk by Jonny Gomes. Left-hander T.J. House retired the
next two batters and then was relieved by left-hander Marc
Rzepczynski, who hit the first batter he faced, center fielder
Jackie Bradley Jr. Shortstop Jonathan Herrera followed with a
single, scoring Jonny Gomes to make it 3-2.
Boston tied it with a run in the seventh inning off right-hander
Scott Atchison. Third baseman Xander Bogaerts led off the inning
with a double, and second baseman Dustin Pedroia followed with a
double, scoring Bogaerts with the tying run.
The Red Sox had a chance to do more damage in that inning as
Atchison intentionally walked designated hitter David Ortiz to put
runners at first and second with no outs. But Atchison retired Jonny
Gomes on an infield popout, and Hagadone came out of the bullpen to
strike out catcher A.J. Pierzynski and right fielder Alex Hassan to
end the inning.
The Indians started the game by banging out five consecutive singles
in the bottom of the first inning off Peavy. Bourn singled, went to
third on a single by shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and scored on a
single by left fielder Michael Brantley. Second baseman Jason Kipnis
reached on a bunt single, loading the bases with no outs.
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First baseman Lonnie Chisenhall made it five singles in a row by
flaring a hit to shallow left center, scoring Cabrera to give the
Indians a 2-0 lead. Designated hitter Ryan Raburn grounded into a
double play, but Brantley scored to make it 3-0. Peavy finally ended
the inning by striking out Murphy. "This is a tough one to lose," said Peavy. "I don't know if I've
ever started a game with five straight hits. I felt like I made
pitches there in the first no different than I did the rest of the
game."
In 6 1/3 innings, Peavy gave up five runs on eight hits, with three
strikeouts and one walk.
"Jake settled down after they bunched some hits together in that
first inning. He kept the game very much under control," said Boston
manager John Farrell.
House bobbed and weaved through the first five innings, allowing
plenty of base runners but only one run. With one out in the third
inning, Bogaerts belted a first-pitch home run into the left-field
bleachers, his fifth home run of the season and second of the
series.
In his third major league start, House gave up two runs in 5 2/3
innings, and held Ortiz hitless in three at-bats.
"I used to watch him on TV when I was in junior high school so it's
kind of cool to have the chance to face him and have success," House
said.
NOTES: Red Sox RHP Brandon Workman was suspended for six games and
fined by Major League Baseball for throwing a pitch behind Tampa Bay
3B Evan Longoria on May 30. Workman appealed the suspension, and he
will make his scheduled start Wednesday in Cleveland. ... Indians 3B
Lonnie Chisenhall doesn't have enough at-bats to qualify for the
American League lead in hitting, but among players with at least 150
plate appearances, Chisenhall led the majors with a .360 average at
the start of play on Tuesday. ... Indians 1B Nick Swisher, on the
disabled list since May 27 with a hyperextended knee, likely will
begin a minor league rehab assignment at some point during the
Indians' 10-game road trip that starts Friday.
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