Allen retired the side in order in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Indians a 3-2 win in the series finale. The teams split their four-game series at Fenway Park despite the Red Sox taking the first two contests.
The big blow Sunday was delivered by Nick Swisher. Swisher took Junichi Tazawa deep down the right field line in the 11th inning.
Brandon Workman pitched well for Boston despite not factoring into the decision. The right-hander was charged with two runs on five hits over six-plus innings. He struck out seven and walked two.
The Red Sox will host the Minnesota Twins for three games beginning Monday. Rubby De La Rosa will pitch the series opener.
Mid 11th, Indians 3-2: It’s been a forgettable season for Nick Swisher, yet he delivered the big blow in this one.
Swisher crushed a solo homer down the right field line to give the Indians a 3-2 lead in the 11th inning.
Swisher’s homer, like Michael Brantley’s first-inning shot, hooked right around Pesky’s Pole.
Daniel Nava, David Ross and Grady Sizemore are due up for Boston in the bottom of the 11th.
End 10th, 2-2: Cody Allen took care of business in the 10th inning.
Allen retired Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz and Mike Napoli in order — no small feat, obviously.
Pedroia grounded to the right side of the mound. Allen charged off to make the play and flip to first.
Allen struck out Ortiz and Napoli to end the inning.
Junichi Tazawa will pitch the 11th inning for Boston.
Mid 10th, 2-2: Craig Breslow overcame two walks to work a scoreless 10th inning.
Michael Bourn lined out to center field and Asdrubal Cabrera struck out swinging, giving Breslow two quick outs in the 10th.
Breslow walked Michael Brantley and Jason Kipnis, at which point Terry Francona turned to Mike Aviles to pinch-hit for Lonnie Chisenhall.
Aviles grounded to the right side, where Mike Napoli made the play and tossed to second base for an inning-ending forceout.
End 9th, 2-2: Scott Atchison got the Indians out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning. To extra innings, we go.
John Axford started the bottom of the ninth, but he didn’t have it. Axford walked A.J. Pierzynski, Grady Sizemore and Jackie Bradley Jr. in addition to uncorking a wild pitch.
Terry Francona turned to Atchison following Bradley’s two-out walk — which the Red Sox were fortunate to receive, because Bradley should have been rung up on a 2-2 offering.
Atchison forced Brock Holt to ground over the mound and into the middle of the infield. Second baseman Jason Kipnis made the play and fired to first to retire Holt just in time. Holt dug so hard up the line that he tripped over the bag and faceplanted.
Daniel Nava struck out to begin the inning. Stephen Drew struck out with runners at first and second for the second out.
Xander Bogaerts, who was held out of the starting lineup because of flu-like symptoms, pinch ran for Pierzynski in the ninth. David Ross now will take over behind the plate.
Craig Breslow, who struggled Saturday, will pitch the ninth inning for Boston.
Mid 9th, 2-2: Koji was Koji in the ninth inning.
Koji Uehara breezed through the frame, retiring the bottom third of the Indians’ order. David Murphy, Carlos Santana and Yan Gomes went down without a fight.
Daniel Nava, A.J. Pierzynski and Grady Sizemore are due up for Boston in the bottom of the ninth.
End 8th, 2-2: Koji Uehara will enter with the game tied 2-2.
The Red Sox went down in order against Bryan Shaw in the eighth inning. Shaw navigated through the heart of Boston’s order — Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz and Mike Napoli.
Pedroia grounded out, Ortiz struck out and Napoli flied out.
Daniel Nava, A.J. Pierzynski and Grady Sizemore are due up for Boston in the ninth inning.
Mid 8th, 2-2: Andrew Miller had a chance for a four-strikeout inning.
Jason Kipnis struck out swinging for the second out, but the ball got away. That enabled Kipnis to reach safely at first base.
Miller, who struck out Michael Brantley to begin the inning, then fanned Lonnie Chisenhall for his third strikeout of the frame.
Nick Swisher wasn’t willing to cooperate with the four-K inning. He grounded to short to end the inning.
Brantley wasn’t pleased with being rung up on a slider off the outside corner. He might have had a point, but home plate umpire Chris Guccione’s strike zone was pretty consistent with what the zone’s been all game — and all series, for that matter.
End 7th, 2-2:Â Stephen Drew has had a nice afternoon in his return.
Drew singled with one out in the seventh inning. He’s now 2-for-3, as he also singled in his first at-bat.
Drew swiped second base with Jackie Bradley Jr. batting. It marked Drew’s first stolen base of the season.
The Red Sox left Drew in scoring position, though. Bradley flied out to center field and Brock Holt struck out swinging.
Andrew Miller will pitch the eighth inning for Boston.
Mid 7th, 2-2: Brandon Workman exited after allowing the first two hitters of the seventh inning to reach.
Workman walked David Murphy and surrendered a single to Carlos Santana. Murphy went racing from first to third on Santana’s single into right field.
John Farrell turned to ground ball specialist Burke Badenhop. Badenhop naturally surrendered a fly ball to left-center field, and Murphy tagged up and scored from third base.
Badenhop did another nice job of minimizing the damage, though. He retired Michael Bourn and Asdrubal Cabrera to end the inning after Yan Gomes’ game-tying sacrifice fly.
It’s a shame Workman won’t come away from this one with a victory. He pitched well and showed again that he belongs in the Red Sox’s rotation moving forward.
End 6th, Red Sox 2-1: Double plays continue to be an issue for the Red Sox.
Daniel Nava worked a one-out walk in the sixth inning, but A.J. Pierzynski grounded into a double play to end the frame.
The Red Sox grounded into three double plays in Saturday’s loss. Pierzynski also produced one of those.
Nava definitely looks much more comfortable at the plate. He entered the game hitting .455 (10-for-22) in six games since June 7 and has walked three times in this contest.
Brandon Workman will come back out to start the seventh inning.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 2-1: Dustin Pedroia helped the Red Sox take the lead by beating out a potential double play in the fifth inning. In the sixth inning, Pedey flashed some leather.
Pedroia made a diving, backhanded stop to rob Jason Kipnis of a base hit. Pedroia delivered a strong throw in time to nab his second base counterpart.
Lonnie Chisenhall walked with two outs, but Brandon Workman rebounded to strike out Nick Swisher. Swisher chased a curveball in the dirt and the ball briefly got away from catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who tracked it down and fired to first to complete the out.
End 5th, Red Sox 2-1: You could say Dustin Pedroia hustled home a run in the fifth inning.
Jackie Bradley Jr. followed Stephen Drew’s inning-opening strikeout with a six-pitch walk. Bradley continues to show an improved approach at the plate of late, which is a very encouraging sign.
Brock Holt, who just rakes nonstop nowadays, singled into right field. Bradley got on his horse and slid safely into third base without a throw.
Dustin Pedroia hit a bouncer to short with runners at the corners. Asdrubal Cabrera looked to start an inning-ending double play and keep Boston off the scoreboard, but Pedroia beat out second baseman Jason Kipnis’ throw. That enabled Bradley to score with the go-ahead run.
David Ortiz ended the inning by hitting into the shift. He literally grounded out up the right field line.
Mid 5th, 1-1: The Red Sox landed in some trouble in the fifth inning when Daniel Nava strangely failed to make a catch in left field.
Carlos Santana lifted a fly ball to left field with one out. Nava raced back to the warning track before realizing the ball wasn’t hit that deep. He thus needed to charge in, and the ball fell beyond his reach as he laid out for it.
Either Nava lost the ball in the sun or the wind played a factor. Maybe both. Who knows? Sananta was credited with a double.
Workman then grazed Yan Gomes with a pitch, setting up runners at first and second. The right-hander escaped the inning by striking out Michael Bourn and getting Asdrubal Cabrera to roll one over to second base.
End 4th, 1-1: A failed hit-and-run attempt prevented the Red Sox from doing any damage in the fourth inning.
Daniel Nava led off with a walk. Red Sox manager John Farrell opted to hit-and-run with A.J. Pierzynski at the plate — something he’s done several times this season — and the Boston backstop fanned. Catcher Yan Gomes easily threw out Nava at second base.
Pierzynski grounded to first base and Grady Sizemore struck out swinging to end the inning.
Mid 4th, 1-1: Brandon Workman navigated around back-to-back singles in the fourth inning.
Workman struck out Asdrubal Cabrera to begin the inning before yielding two straight hits to Michael Brantley and Jason Kipnis. Brantley reached out and poked an outside curveball into left field, and Kipnis shot a 2-2 fastball through the left side.
Workman struck out Lonnie Chisenhall for the second out. Terry Francona came out of the dugout, though, as Chisenhall thought he got a piece of it. Home plate umpire Chris Guccione determined that Chisenhall fanned on the pitch in the dirt.
Nick Swisher lined out to Daniel Nava for the third out.
End 3rd, 1-1: Corey Kluber enjoyed a 1-2-3 third inning.
Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz flied out to Michael Bourn in center field.
Mike Napoli grounded to short, where Asdrubal Cabrera made the play.
Mid 3rd, 1-1: Brandon Workman has looked good aside from Michael Brantley’s first-inning home run.
Workman struck out Carlos Santana and Yan Gomes in the third inning. Santana went down looking on a 3-2 cutter, and Gomes whiffed on the second of back-to-back curveballs.
Michael Bourn grounded to third base, where Brock Holt made a nice play to end the inning.
End 2nd, 1-1: Stephen Drew singled in his first at-bat following a six-day layoff because of an oblique injury.
Drew singled into right field with one out in the second inning. The shortstop entered the at-bat hitting .071 (1-for-14) with five strikeouts this season.
The Red Sox left Drew hanging at first, though. Jackie Bradley Jr. struck out swinging and Brock Holt grounded out on a hot shot to first base knocked down by Carlos Santana.
Mid 2nd, 1-1: Brandon Workman worked a clean second inning.
Workman struck out the red-hot Lonnie Chisenhall for the first out. Chisenhall entered the game hitting .377.
Nick Swisher and David Murphy both put the ball in the air. Swisher popped out to third base and Murphy flied out to left field.
End 1st, 1-1: David Ortiz almost left the yard in the first inning, but his deep drive to left field bashed off the Green Monster. It still resulted in Boston’s first run of the game, though.
Brock Holt again served as the catalyst, singling past third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall and into left field. Holt took second base when Corey Kluber uncorked a wild pitch and advanced to third base on Dustin Pedroia’s ground ball to the right side.
Ortiz drilled a 1-0 pitch high off the left field wall. A few more feet of elevation would have given Ortiz his 16th home run of the season. Instead, he was thrown out at second base trying to stretch the hit into a double.
Daniel Nava walked and Mike Napoli singled to lengthen the inning. A.J. Pierzynski, who shouldered the blame for Saturday’s loss, struck out swinging to end the threat.
Mid 1st, Indians 1-0: Michael Brantley hooked one right around Pesky’s Pole in the first inning.
Brandon Workman got two quick outs, retiring Michael Bourn and Asdrubal Cabrera on flyouts to center field and left field, respectively.
Brantley made sure his line drive left the yard. He yanked the 11th pitch he saw from Workman into the right field seats. It was ripped right down the right field line.
1:38 p.m.: Brandon Workman toes the rubber, and away we go.
1:26 p.m.: The Red Sox’s seven-game home winning streak was snapped Saturday. The streak marked Boston’s longest since winning nine home games in a row July 5 through July 24, 2011.
Red Sox pitchers have given up no more than three runs in any of their last eight home games. It marks the longest such streak at home since allowing three runs or fewer in 11 straight home games from Sept. 3 through Sept. 28, 1986.
1:10 p.m.: Stephen Drew is back.
Drew has missed the last six games with a right oblique injury he suffered last Sunday against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. He’ll return to the Red Sox’s lineup for this one after responding favorably to a full day of workouts Saturday at Fenway Park.
Drew will play shortstop and bat eighth. The 31-year-old hasn’t gotten his timing down yet, evidenced by his 1-for-14 start at the plate in the four games he’s played since returning to the Red Sox.
Xander Bogaerts will be out of the Red Sox’s starting lineup Sunday with flu-like symptoms. The Red Sox are hopeful he’ll return Monday, when Boston begins a three-game home series against the Minnesota Twins.
Bogaerts’ absence means Brock Holt will shift back into the infield. Daniel Nava and Grady Sizemore will play left field and right field, respectively, against right-hander Corey Kluber.
Sunday’s complete lineups are below.
Boston Red Sox (31-37)
Brock Holt, 3B
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Napoli, 1B
Daniel Nava, LF
A.J. Pierzynski, C
Grady Sizemore, RF
Stephen Drew, SS
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Brandon Workman, RHP (1-0, 2.86 ERA)
Cleveland Indians (34-35)
Michael Bourn, CF
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
Michael Brantley, LF
Jason Kipnis, 2B
Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B
Nick Swisher, DH
David Murphy, RF
Carlos Santana, 1B
Yan Gomes, C
Corey Kluber, RHP (6-4, 3.35 ERA)
12:30 p.m. ET: One rough inning killed the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.
Craig Breslow struggled, A.J. Pierzynski made a costly error and Junichi Tazawa walked in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning as the Cleveland Indians dealt the Red Sox a 3-2 defeat at Fenway Park. The Sox will turn to Brandon Workman while looking to rebound in Sunday’s series finale against the Tribe.
Workman still is awaiting word on his appeal of the six-game suspension he received from Major League Baseball for throwing behind Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria in his May 30 start. The 25-year-old hasn’t let the process be a distraction, though, as he’s coming off his best effort of the season Tuesday in Baltimore.
Workman tossed 6 2/3 shutout innings against the Orioles on Tuesday. He allowed just one hit, one walk and struck out four while throwing 67 pitches. If it wasn’t for two separate rain delays, Workman most likely would have worked very deep into that contest.
Workman and the Red Sox will have their hands full Sunday. They’re going up against Corey Kluber, who has had a nice season for the Indians. Kluber, who enters with a 6-4 record and 3.35 ERA, allowed four runs on five hits over 6 1/3 innings against Boston on June 4.
Sunday’s first pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. Be sure to tune in on NESN, and keep it right here with NESN.com’s live blog.
