BOSTON — David Ortiz is showing no signs of slowing down.
The Red Sox designated hitter carried the offensive load Sunday at Fenway Park, going 4-for-4 and finishing one big bounce shy of the cycle to lift his team to a 5-2, series-clinching win over the Cleveland Indians.
Rick Porcello shook off a rough first few innings to last 5 2/3 frames and pick up his seventh win of the season, while Jackie Bradley Jr. extended his hitting streak to 27 games.
Here’s how it all went down:
GAME IN A WORD
Excess.
The Red Sox’s bats once again stayed hot to the tune of five runs on 12 hits. But they could have had a lot more, as they stranded a whopping 12 runners and left the bases loaded twice.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Mookie Betts scampered home with an insurance run in the sixth inning.
The Red Sox already led by two runs when Xander Bogaerts hit a blooper to shallow right field that fell in for a hit. Betts got on his horse to score from second, giving Boston a 5-2 lead that would hold thanks to a strong effort from the Sox’s bullpen.
ON THE BUMP
— Porcello didn’t have his best stuff out of the gate. He needed 56 pitches to get through the first inning and allowed two runs on a Jason Kipnis RBI single after loading the bases on a double, a hit-by-pitch and a walk.
But the right-hander managed to settle down after that, retiring 11 of the next 13 batters he faced before exiting with two outs in the sixth inning. Porcello threw 115 pitches in 5 2/3 innings but allowed just two runs on five hits while striking out five, walking one and hitting two batters.
— Matt Barnes relieved Porcello and walked Juan Uribe before striking out Rajai Davis to end the sixth.
— Tommy Layne retired the first two batters of the seventh before giving way to Heath Hembree.
— Hembree threw just two pitches, getting Francisco Lindor to ground out to end the seventh.
— Koji Uehara allowed one hit and struck out one in a scoreless eighth inning.
— Craig Kimbrel struck out two batters in the ninth en route to his 12th save of the season.
— Boston’s bullpen was excellent in relief of Porcello, as four pitchers combined to limit the Indians to one hit over the final 2 1/3 innings.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— As has become custom, the Red Sox struck first with a pair of first-inning runs on RBI singles from Ortiz and Hanley Ramirez. They could have had more, but Travis Shaw and Blake Swihart both struck out with the bases loaded to end the inning.
— Ortiz delivered again in the second inning, putting the Red Sox back in front with a ground-rule RBI double that scored Betts. It was Ortiz’s 602nd career double, moving him past Barry Bonds for 14th on Major League Baseball’s all-time list.
— Big Papi struck again in the fifth inning with his 12th homer of the season, a solo shot into the bullpen in right.
— The Red Sox designated hitter was an offensive juggernaut. He drove in three of Boston’s first four runs, was a triple shy of the cycle by the fifth inning and finished the day 4-for-4. He came inches shy of the cycle in the eighth, ripping a ball into the triangle in center that barely caromed into the seats for a ground-rule double while he churned toward third base.
— The Sox tallied an insurance run in the sixth when Betts scored from second on Bogaerts’ blooper.
— Bogaerts finished with three hits (3-for-5, one RBI) to extend his hitting streak to 16 games. He now has recorded multiple hits in 10 of those 16 games.
— Bradley extended his Major League Baseball-best hitting streak to 27 games with a single to right in the fifth. His streak now is tied for the sixth-longest in Red Sox history and is just seven behind Dom DiMaggio’s team-record 34-game streak.
— Betts went 2-for-5 with two runs scored. He’s 9-for-17 in his last four games with three homers, seven runs scored and six RBIs.
— Travis Shaw had an especially brutal game, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and stranding seven runners.
TWEET OF THE DAY
Good things come to those who wait.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox will enjoy an off-day Monday before kicking off a three-game homestand against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday. The Sox haven’t announced a starter, but knuckleballer Steven Wright is next in line. First pitch Tuesday at Fenway is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
