As it stands, Boston is six games (seven in the loss column) behind the New York Yankees as the two teams prepare for a big four-game series starting Friday.
Brand new father Clay Buchholz goes for the Sox in the opener. Javier Vazquez pitches for the Yankees.
Daisuke Matsuzaka gets the win in this one by allowing only a solo homer in the first and then shutting out the Indians over the next seven innings. Jonathan Papelbon gets his 26th save. Adrian Beltre provides all the offense that is needed with a grand slam in the fourth.
First pitch Friday in The Bronx is 7:05 p.m. Get your rest.
9:59 p.m.: Hideki Okajima's struggles continue and while many of you are probably pretty frustrated with him, you have to somewhat feel for the guy. He has said how he is struggling mentally to deal with his issues, with few people to talk to. Pretty lonely in his pursuit for some sort of consistency.
Okajima gets just one out, allows one run and is responsible for two men on. Jonathan Papelbon is on to finish things off.
End 8th, Red Sox 6-1: When the Red Sox got a pair of insurance runs on a single by J.D. Drew, Jonathan Papelbon sat down and Hideki Okajima got back up. He will now pitch the ninth and attempt to finish a 4-3 homestand for Boston.
A woman near the Red Sox' on-deck circle screamed "Get up!" when Adrian Beltre went down in a heap after fouling a ball off his foot during a 12-pitch at bat. It seems the fans won't stand for it anymore.
Jacoby Ellsbury scored one of the two runs after reaching for the first time in his two games back. He got on due to a catcher's interference call.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 4-1: Quite an ovation for Daisuke Matsuzaka as he comes off after a perfect eighth. He gets a huge welcoming in the Red Sox dugout, too, so his night will be over after 109 pitches, all but one of which did the job.
Matsuzaka's ERA is under 4.00 (3.96) for the first time since Sept. 28, 2008. Jonathan Papelbon will pitch the ninth.
Frank Herrmann, a Harvard product, is on in relief for Cleveland.
End 7th, Red Sox 4-1: Not a lot of small ball in this one. All five runs have come on two swings of the bat.
Josh Tomlin has thrown just 93 pitches but the Cleveland bullpen is busy. That might be it for the rookie. The Sox have double-barrel action going in their pen. Daniel Bard and Hideki Okajima are up.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 4-1: The Indians have had the leadoff man on in four of the seven innings. He has never scored. That's the way Daisuke Matsuzaka sometimes likes to operate. Get a guy on, raise the level of intensity, blow them away. It's working rather well in this one.
End 6th, Red Sox 4-1: You have to be impressed with Josh Tomlin. If he had simply executed one pitch a bit better to Adrian Beltre he might be working on a shutout. Tomlin strikes out David Ortiz and J.D. Drew in a 1-2-3 sixth.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 4-1: Daisuke Matsuzaka's ERA is on the verge of falling below 4.00. Remember those days when it looked like his season would be an absolute grind? Feels like a long time ago.
The one item missing from Matsuzaka's resume of late has been length. He has gone seven straight starts without completing seven innings, lasting more than six just once.
With only 81 pitches thrown in this one, he figures to give the bullpen plenty of rest.
End 5th, Red Sox 4-1: Ryan Kalish is now 8-for-16 since being brought up, to go along with a pair of walks. We're still waiting for some kind of sign that this kid needs more seasoning, but have yet to see it.
Terry Francona said before the game that he hopes to have Mike Lowell in the lineup three of the four games in New York. That's a good sign. Without Kevin Youkilis the Red Sox' best lineup will feature Lowell at first rather than Victor Martinez, which would force Francona to put the light-hitting Kevin Cash behind the plate.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 4-1: Daisuke Matsuzaka wiggles out of trouble after allowing a leadoff double and seeing the runner move to third with one out. Matsuzaka has thrown 67 pitches and now has a 2.56 ERA in his career against Cleveland.
End 4th, Red Sox 4-1: We said it would take one turn through the order for the Red Sox to get to Josh Tomlin. But boy did they get to him.
A single and two walks precede a mammoth grand slam from Adrian Beltre, who will find himself in more and more MVP debates if he continues to carry this offense with Kevin Youkilis out.
It is Beltre's eighth career grand slam, his first since Sept. 21, 2006, and it gives him 20 home runs for the eighth time in his career.
Mid 4th, Indians 1-0: Aside from the blast hit by Shin-Soo Choo in the top of the first, Daisuke Matsuzaka has been pretty solid. He has five strikeouts already and has given up just the one run in 12 innings vs. Cleveland this year.
End 3rd, Indians 1-0: Bill Hall is Josh Tomlin's first strikeout victim but is the ninth straight man set down in order. The 25-year-old Tomlin has given up two runs on eight hits in 15 1/3 innings as a major leaguer.
Mid 3rd, Indians 1-0: Still in search of their first hit, the Red Sox send up Mike Lowell, Ryan Kalish and Bill Hall in the third. Lowell will go up to a rousing applause while Kalish takes with him a .500 average.
End 2nd, Indians 1-0: Cleveland center fielder Trevor Crowe has three putouts already. Right fielder Shin-Soo Choo has two. Five of Josh Tomlin's first six outs have been recorded in the air, and with great efficiency. Tomlin has thrown just 21 pitches so far.
Mid 2nd, Indians 1-0: A leadoff single by the Indians is quickly erased when the Red Sox turn a 6-4-3 double play. Daisuke Matsuzaka then picks up his third strikeout.
Tampa Bay has already lost Thursday so the worst Boston can be heading into its 10-game road trip is 6 1/2 games back (seven in the loss column) of the wild card/American League East lead.
End 1st, Indians 1-0: This is everyone's first look at Cleveland rookie Josh Tomlin, so expect the Red Sox to run through the order once before getting to him. That is, if they ever get to him. The Boston offense has exactly four runs scored in its last 19 innings against Cleveland pitching.
Mid 1st, Indians 1-0: It's not quite clear how far Shin-Soo Choo's home run traveled in the top of the first inning. Put it this way. People in seats who never expected to see a ball coming at them just landed a souvenir.
6:36 p.m.: Since it has turned out to be a pretty nice night at the park, I'm in a better mood. However, it's likely many of you are pretty down due to the Kevin Youkilis news. Well, here's something to pick you up a bit.
When the Red Sox head to New York to take on the Yankees, they will have a definitive advantage in the pitching matchups in two of the four games, and you would be hard pressed to have more confidence in A.J. Burnett over Josh Beckett in a third.
The one game that figures to slant in New York's direction is Saturday, when John Lackey opposes CC Sabathia.
We keep coming back to this. As guys go down left and right we are reminded again and again that it all boils down to the starting pitching. If Boston is going to remain in the race it will fall squarely on the shoulders of Lester, Lackey, Buchholz, Beckett and our starter Thursday, Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Until there is reason to doubt that quintet, there is reason to hang in there with this team.
5:58 p.m.: The sun has popped out at Fenway and they are surrounding the tarp in anticipation of removing it. There is still plenty of buzz surrounding two items: the Kevin Youkilis season-ending surgery and the flooded dugouts, which look to be in much better shape.
5:03 p.m.: We have been downstairs getting reaction from some of the guys on the loss of Kevin Youkilis, the biggest blow the Sox have received in a never-ending stream of injuries. Coupled with the fact that Fenway is being flooded due to the rain and there is an odd feeling over here.
Look for more on the Youkilis loss in a bit.
While they would be overshadowed any way, there are no new updates on any of the other injured players. Dustin Pedroia is still on track to run Friday in New York.
Jacoby Ellsbury bounced back well from his debut and is good to go, according to manager Terry Francona.
Jon Lester has no further issues after cramps derailed his start Wednesday night.
As lightning flashes overhead and workers are trying to bail out a flooded Red Sox dugout, here is the Cleveland lineup against Daisuke Matsuzaka:
Trevor Crowe, CF
Jason Donald, SS
Shin-Soo Choo, RF
Matt LaPorta, 1B
Jordan Brown, LF
Jayson Nix, DH
Luis Valbuena, 2B
Andy Marte, 3B
Lou Marson, C
3:24 p.m.: The rain really kicked in again and seems to have put an end to Josh Beckett's bullpen session. He continued to pitch for some time while it came down heavy, reminding us a little of the scene in Yankee Stadium back in May when he got hurt. Good thing he finally stopped.
3:11 p.m.: The tarp is on the field and we just had a nice downpour here. During the torrent, Daisuke Matsuzaka did some light jogging in the outfield, unfazed by the wet stuff. Both he and Josh Beckett are throwing right now, Beckett in the bullpen, Matsuzaka in right field.
Beckett, Mike Cameron, Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis were each fined an undisclosed amount for their actions during the brawl Tuesday night. That latter four were fined because they were on the DL when they ran on the field, a no-no in the MLB office.
Cleveland third base coach Steve Smith was suspended two games.
2:36 p.m.: Greetings from Fenway Park, where the grounds crew is flirting with the tarp and looking skyward, apparently waiting for a cut to roll it on. Before the Red Sox take on the Indians in another crucial game, we should get an update on Kevin Youkilis. In the meantime, here is your starting lineup:
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Marco Scutaro, SS
David Ortiz, DH
Victor Martinez, C
J.D. Drew, RF
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Mike Lowell, 1B
Ryan Kalish, LF
Bill Hall, 2B
8 a.m. The Red Sox finally played in a game that was not close on Wednesday night. Unfortunately, they were on the losing end.
Following a 9-1 loss to Cleveland, Boston will try to end a seven-game homestand on a positive note when it sends Daisuke Matsuzaka to the mound Thursday.
Matsuzaka dominated the Indians in a start in Cleveland nearly two months ago. He may need to be sharp again for the Red Sox to avoid a losing homestand.
With the loss Wednesday, Boston is 3-3 on the homestand and 6 1/2 games behind both New York and Tampa Bay. The club begins a brutal 10-game road trip at the Yankees on Friday.
First pitch of the series finale with the Indians is 7:10 p.m.
