Indians Cut It Close But Sox Hang On (13-19)

Buchholz actually pitched
pretty well last night

Judging that this was the game before I head up to Boston to watch the Sox, it's a pretty good thing that they don't have a three game skid-- and now they don't! The Indians scored first when they got a two-out rally going in the first inning, walking and singling before Carlos Santana singled to right to make it 1-0. The Sox quickly answered though, as they loaded the bases with one out in the first. Will Middlebrooks jumped on a first pitch curve and hit a line drive down the third base line for a two-run double. After a pair of singles to lead off the second, Dustin Pedroia knocked them both in by rocketing a double into right field to make it 4-1 Sox. Clay Buchholz continued to pitch well and in the fifth, it was still 4-1 when Daniel Nava walked to lead off the inning. Cody Ross proceeded to drive him in on a double that was fair by a few inches, making it 5-1. Cody Ross reached third on a groundout, and an infield single for Nick Punto would put runners on the corners with one out for the Sox. Ryan Sweeney drove a ground ball past Jason Kipnis at second to drive one in, and Dustin Pedroia hit a sacrifice fly to make it 7-1.

Pedroia went 3-4 with 3 RBIs and a
double last night

Now, Clay Buchholz was pitching well for the first time this year, and continued to pitch well until the seventh. However, after getting the first out of the seventh, Buchholz allowed the bases to load on two singles and a walk. He would be taken out of the game and given a standing ovation. However, the fans were less happy when Rich Hill walked a run in and let another in on some shaky defense by Will Middlebrooks. Hill would be taken out of the ballgame, and Andrew Miller came in-- allowing a single to Michael Brantley which made it 7-4 but getting the two outs necessary. Another RBI single for Brantley in the ninth would make it 7-5, but that would be it for Cleveland.

Bright Spots:
Clay Buchholz- 6.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, W (4-1)
Ryan Sweeney- 2-5, 1 R, 1 RBI
Dustin Pedroia- 3-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 3 RBI
Adrian Gonzalez- 2-2, 2 BB, 2 2B
David Ortiz- 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB
Will Middlebrooks- 1-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI
Daniel Nava- 1-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 BB
Cody Ross- 1-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 BB

Dull Spots:
Alfredo Aceves- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K, SV (6)
Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 0-5, 2 K, 8 LOB

Player of the Game:
Dustin Pedroia- Pedroia continued his tear of late by having a great game, going 3-4, scoring a run, knocking a double and a sacrifice fly, and driving in three runs to become .316/5/17 on the year.