Final 9th, Red Sox 4-1: There was plenty of positive to take from this victory.
Dustin Pedroia continued to create carnage at the plate, belting an RBI and keying the Red Sox' offense. Felix Doubront's stuff was effective, as he allowed one run in six innings of work to capture his second straight win.
Doubront still needs to work on his efficiency after tossing 109 pitches through six frames. He racked up five strikeouts to add to his total, but the efficiency will come as he gets more experience.
End 8th, Red Sox 4-1: Jairo Asencio came in to relieve McAllister and did a fine job, retiring David Ortiz, Adrian Gonzalez and Will Middlebrooks.
At this point, the pressure shifts to the Indians' batters. They'll have a crack at Alfredo Aceves in the ninth as they look to avoid a two-game losing streak.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 4-1: Vicente Padilla came in and a got a 1-2-3 inning. He's really become a valuable asset for the Red Sox in the bullpen.
His pitching arsenal is pretty filthy, and he's a crafty veteran. He tossed the eephus pitch last week in Fenway, and it elicited some cheers from the crowd in attendance.
End 7th, Red Sox 4-1: Zach McAllister has quietly emerged as a cog for the Indians, allowing just eight hits in this one.
He has tossed about 112 pitches through seven frames, so I would venture a guess that he will be done just about now.
Also of note, Vicente Padilla is entering the game for Andrew Miller.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 4-1: Since his call-up last week, Miller has done well, providing the bullpen with the necessary relief.
Earlier this afternoon, Valentine was praising the pitching depth between Boston and Pawtucket. From Junichi Tazawa to Clayton Mortensen to Andrew Miller, each pitcher has flourished in the majors.
Mark Melancon finding his stride adds to that depth.
9:07 p.m.: Andrew Miller — and his signature beard — is coming in to relieve Felix Doubront.
End 6th, Red Sox 4-1: Cody Ross smashed a solo shot over the Green Monster for his first homer since April 23.
He's always been known as a streaky hitter. He cooled off recently, but that blast could trigger another barrage of bombs from Ross.
And, of course, we were treated to the Ross bat flip.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 3-1: That's a defensive miscue for Felix Doubront.
When Kipnis hit an infield single, Doubront didn't rush to cover first base quick enough, which allowed Kipnis to get to first and a run to score. It seemed like Doubront straight up forgot to cover.
After 109 pitches thrown, this may be it for him.
End 5th, Red Sox 3-0: Adrian Gonzalez ended that inning with a groundout.
Bobby Valentine said Gonzalez would be fine with playing a little outfield during interleague play in order to let David Ortiz patrol first base.
Back in the spring, Gonzalez didn't really like the idea, but apparently he's warmed up to it.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 3-0: So there's good news and bad news.
The good? Felix Doubront has continued to carry his shutout after five frames and is stringing together his best start of the season.
The bad? He's up to 84 pitches after five innings. He's going to need to make some quick work in the next inning, so he can make it further into the game.
End 4th, Red Sox 3-0: Really, who would've believed that Daniel Nava would be the spark the Red Sox needed?
He belted a single to get on base yet again. After Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a ground-rule double, Mike Aviles brought Nava home with a sacrifice fly.
Very rarely in life do you get second chances like this, and Nava is making the most of it.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 2-0: Doubront's cutter to Carlos Santana was absolutely filthy. Santana had no chance at that one and struck out swinging.
Doubront also started off the inning by unleashing his first curveball of the night, which shows how much he's relied on the cutter and fastball combination all night.
End 3rd, Red Sox 2-0: Dustin Pedroia, who now wants to be referred to as La Luna — Spanish for The Moon — just barely missed a moonshot over the Green Monster.
David Ortiz followed up by drilling a double off the center field wall and sped over to second base without any issues. That sore left heel looked pretty fine on that mad dash.
That's his 14th double of the season.
Mid 3rd, 0-0: The cutter has been Felix Doubront's bread and butter through three innings.
He's used it to strike out three batters — all looking — and although he walked one batter, he's maintained consistency. It's very surprising that Doubront would emerge as the most consistent starter in the Red Sox' rotation.
Last week, he told me that he's continuing to learn things in every start.
End 2nd, 0-0: Since I wasn't here for Daniel Nava's 2012 debut, I'll chip in my two cents here, but you have to give the kid credit for patience.
It looked like he was a one-hit wonder after his 2010 emergence with a grand slam. But since getting a call-up on Thursday, Nava has reached base seven of 10 times.
He belted a single just now, which I counted in that statistic.
Mid 2nd, 0-0: In a rare occasion, Cody Ross flashed a cannon arm. When Travis Hafner attempted to stretch a single into a double, Ross nailed him at second with a bullet.
He did so from right field. With Marlon Byrd struggling defensively, Valentine slotted Ryan Sweeney at center field. Before the game, Byrd didn't appear too happy about missing his second straight game.
But Ross looked good from right field.
End 1st, 0-0: With a single, Dustin Pedroia extended his hitting streak to 13 games. It's the highest current streak in the majors right now.
He does it quietly, but he's continuing to key the Red Sox offense little by little.
Also, David Ortiz belted a fly out to center field. In the sequence of his at-bat, he didn't show any noticeable limp.
Mid 1st, 0-0: Felix Doubront is off to a hot start. He struck out Brantley and Kipnis with a strong combination of fastballs and cutters.
The pressure is on him again to jump-start the Red Sox and get them on the winning track. He answered the bell for them last week, protecting the bullpen for most of the game in the series opener against the Royals.
5:50 p.m.: Here are the lineups.
Red Sox
Ryan Sweeney, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Daniel Nava, LF
Cody Ross, RF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Mike Aviles, SS
Felix Doubront, P
Indians
Michael Brantley, CF
Jason Kipnis, 2B
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
Carlos Santana, 1B
Travis Hafner, DH
Shin-Soo Choo, RF
Shelley Duncan, LF
Jack Hannahan, 3B
Lou Marson, C
Zach McAllister, P
3:21 p.m.: I'm back from a nice and relaxing two-day breather from a hectic few weeks and ready to roll once again from Fenway. Just got here and I'm sure we'll have much more to talk about once again.
8 a.m. ET: In Felix Doubront's last appearance for the Red Sox (13-19), he made his longest foray into a game as a starting pitcher, going into the seventh inning against the Royals and capturing his second victory. This time around, the lefty pitcher will look to string together another efficient outing, but this time it will be against the Indians (18-13).
Doubront, who is 2-1 with a 5.06 ERA, will go against Cleveland pitcher Josh Tomlin. In Tomlin's last outing, he held the White Sox to two runs on five hits over 7 1/3 innings while striking out a career-high eight batters. Tomlin is 1-2 with a 4.67 ERA this season.
For more details and analysis from Fenway Park, follow NESN.com's live blog. Tune into NESN's pregame show at 6 p.m. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.
