The Boston Red Sox squared off against the Cleveland Indians for the first time this season Monday, and the Sox walked away with a 12-5 victory.
Rick Porcello tossed 6 2/3 innings, giving up four earned runs off eight hits while striking out four.
Boston offense combined for 13 hits.
Here’s how it all went down:
GAME IN A WORD:
Explosive.
Baseballs were flying all over the place, and Boston ended up on the right side of the box score.
ON THE BUMP:
— Porcello had himself a decent afternoon, but got into a bit of trouble early in the game.
After loading the bases in the first inning, the righty gave up the game’s first run on an RBI single to Jason Kipnis. Porcello quickly would reload the bases after hitting Jake Bauers with a pitch, and a ground out to shortstop Xander Bogaerts forced home another run, giving the Indians a 2-0 lead. Porcello would gather himself to complete the inning.
Porcello would allow a third run to score in the third off of a groundout to second, but he settled down for a bit after that. The lefty allowed the Indians to score their fourth run of the game off a Roberto Perez single to right field, leading Cora to pull the starter.
— Heath Hembree took over pitching duties for the Sox in the seventh. The righty gave up an RBI double to the first batter he faced, which cut Boston’s lead in half.Â
— Ryan Braiser entered and pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning.
— Hector Velazquez handled the ninth, closing out the game.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX:
— It took a couple of innings, but Boston’s bats finally got hot in the third.
A long RBI single by Betts put the Sox on the board. Betts later would score on a wild pitch to bring the Sox within one.
— Brock Holt kept things going in the fourth, tying the game at three with an RBI single of his own.
But with the bases loaded, the Sox would fail to score another run.
— The Sox took a 4-3 lead in the fifth thanks to an RBI double to center by Rafael Devers, allowing Betts to score from second base. Then it was Bogaerts’ turn to hit an RBI two-bagger, driving Devers home to give Boston a 5-3 lead. Boston would tack another run on thanks to a Jackie Bradley Jr. double to center.
Sandy Leon broke things wide open with a three-run homer, making it 9-3 Boston.
— J.D. Martinez launched a solo homer into the Red Sox bullpen with two out in the sixth. That made it 10-3 Boston.
— Bradley’s second extra-base hit of the game drove Holt home in the seventh, giving the Sox an 11-5 lead.
— Martinez hit his second home run of the day in the eighth to make it 12-5.
TWEET OF THE DAY:
Check out this impressive catch by Mookie in the fifth.
UP NEXT:
Boston will continue its three-game set against the Indians on Tuesday. First pitch from Fenway Park is slated for 7:10 p.m. ET.
