Postgame, Indians 3-1: There have been so few positives through the first four games, but just to try to establish some sort of balance, it's important to note what the bullpen did in this one.
Matt Albers, Bobby Jenks and Daniel Bard gave the Red Sox a chance in the late innings by throwing three scoreless innings. They combined to strike out eight men.
"Matt's been throwing the ball good since we saw him in February," manager Terry Francona said. "We're trying to piece it together because our starters have been leaving a little bit early, so we didn't want to use Reyes because he had pitched all three games in Texas. But Jenks threw the ball great, it was nice to see Daniel get back in there and put up a zero. Just trying to keep it close."
They did, and kept alive a nifty little run for Red Sox relievers. After Jenks finished his outing, Boston's bullpen had recorded its last 10 outs via strikeouts. Once Bard was done it was 12 out of 13.
So, there's that. And there's Daisuke Matsuzaka pitching Wednesday night. Is that enough for you? I didn't think so, but that's what we're working with. Also, Matsuzaka absolutely dominated the Tribe last year so there is reason to believe he, and a bullpen which has begun to round into form, can at least keep the Sox in the game.
Now, just days after we wondered when they would stop giving up runs, they just need to score a few of their own.
We will be watching that pursuit once again, beginning at 7:05 p.m., so be sure to log in and be part of the online action. Thanks for checking in tonight.
Final, Indians 3-1: Dustin Pedroia had a single to start the fourth and another with one out in the ninth, the last two hits for the Red Sox in a very quiet offensive effort.
Pedroia is stranded at third in the ninth after Adrian Gonzalez flies to left and, following a two-out walk to Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz also flies to left.
Ortiz worked a 3-0 count and had the green light but fouled a pitch off before lofting the final out into the glove of Austin Kearns.
So, the worst start since 1996 remains just that, but we might soon be looking a bit further into the archives. Boston is 0-4 and turns to Daisuke Matsuzaka on Wednesday night.
Let it out, guys. I'll be back in a bit with a parting thought.
End 8th, Indians 3-1: Jed Lowrie replaced Marco Scutaro at shortstop and Jason Varitek got into a game for the first time by taking over for Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
Daniel Bard was on the mound, and looked much better than his miserable outing Friday in Texas. He struck out two of the three he faced, giving Red Sox relievers eight Ks in three innings.
Carl Crawford, Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Gonzalez are due up against Indians closer Chris Perez.
Mid 8th, Indians 3-1: I took a sip of water and practiced my autograph once on a piece of paper, looked up and the top of the eighth inning was over. Did that just happen?
This loaded lineup is positively punchless right now. The last Red Sox hit came when Dustin Pedroia led off the fourth with a single. They have had three runners on since then due to two walks and an error.
Yikes.
End 7th, Indians 3-1: It's not easy to grab momentum from your bullpen when you are losing, but the Red Sox relievers have provided a bit of a boost to the club.
After Matt Albers struck out the side in the sixth, Bobby Jenks does the same in the seventh.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Marco Scutaro, a combined 1-for-21 this year, start the eighth. They will face Tony Sipp, who was warming up with purpose in the Cleveland bullpen. Josh Tomlin was fantastic.
Mid 7th, Indians 3-1: That's now two runs in the last 18 innings for the Red Sox, and both came on RBI singles that weren't exactly struck with ferocity.
David Ortiz did put a little charge into one in the seventh but it was still caught several steps before the track in left-center.
Josh Tomlin has yielded three hits and three walks in seven frames. His pitch count is at 91.
Bobby Jenks was up and warming and figures to work the seventh. We probably will see Daniel Bard, too. He hasn't thrown since tossing 32 pitches in the opener on Friday.
End 6th, Indians 3-1: Red Sox pitchers have now walked 15 men this year while striking out 19. Not a good ratio, my friends. And that's after Matt Albers had three Ks against one walk in the sixth.
Albers showed the ability to rack up the strikeouts during the spring, even though it wasn't a huge part of his game before, and he does so again here. He could become a very valuable member of this bullpen and possibly even pick up some late innings here and there if other big guns need a rest or are struggling.
Mid 6th, Indians 3-1: Meanwhile there's Josh Tomlin, as economical and efficient as can be. He slices through the top third of the Red Sox lineup in the sixth.
Tomlin has tossed 76 pitches.
Everybody will be screaming about another lackluster start, but the can't-miss offense has produced two runs in its last 17 innings. If you are a critic, pick your poison.
Matt Albers has taken over for Josh Beckett, who gives up three runs on five hits and four walks. He struck out four.
End 5th, Indians 3-1: The Indians have been incredibly patient, hen-pecking Josh Beckett with a ton of three-ball counts, several walks and a little bit of small ball in the fifth.
Asdrubal Cabrera led it off with a double, moved to third on a grounder to the right side and scored on a sacrifice fly when Carl Crawford's throw home was up the first-base line a bit.
Beckett then walked the next hitter and was hanging by a thread, but managed to get out of the inning on his 106th pitch of the night. That might do it for Beckett, but we'll have to see.
Mid 5th, Indians 2-1: Marco Scutaro is now 0-for-10 on the young season after hitting into an inning-ending double play in the fifth.
Josh Beckett could approach or pass 100 pitches in this frame. Get ready to see plenty of the bullpen once again.
End 4th, Indians 2-1: Travis Hafner has worn out Josh Beckett in his career, sporting a 1.178 OPS entering this one. His double, which missed going out by a foot or two, starts a go-ahead rally off Josh Beckett in the fourth.
Key in the inning was what happened when Orlando Cabrera singled in Hafner to tie it 1-1. Carl Crawford threw over the cutoff man on a play he never had at the plate and Cabrera took second. That enabled him to score on Jack Hannahan's single up the middle with two outs.
Beckett has snapped off some nice breaking balls, but that fastball just catches too much of the plate when he is getting hit. It was the breaking ball that got Beckett a big strikeout of Matt LaPorta for the second out of the inning. Beckett has thrown 83 pitches.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 1-0: They say two-out walks can kill you, but Josh Beckett survived two in the bottom of the third and Josh Tomlin worked around one in the top of the fourth.
Then again, it was Tomlin's two-out walk to David Ortiz in the second that led to a run for Boston.
By the way, Mark Teixeira has hit his third three-run homer of the season already as the Yankees have a 4-0 lead over Minnesota.
End 3rd, Red Sox 1-0: Both Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz gave up two runs in the first three innings of their starts over the weekend. John Lackey gave up three in his first three. Josh Beckett is having much better results, although he had to fight for his life in the third.
Beckett threw 35 pitches in the frame. He walked Michael Brantley with two outs. Brantley stole second and went to third when Jarrod Saltalamacchia's throw went into center. A walk to Asdrubal Cabrera put runners on the corners, and then he stole a bag to put two men in scoring position with the dangerous Shin-Soo Choo at the plate.
A high hard one from Beckett fanned Choo to get the Red Sox out of the mess. The only harm was Beckett's soaring pitch count, now at 59.
By the way, Saltalamacchia had three errors in spring training and now has one early on here. We know he has had throwing issues in the past. Let's hope he can correct them, but so far it's been a bit sloppy on that end of things.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 1-0: A cold night and a pair of pitchers settling in. Runs could be at a premium.
Josh Tomlin sets down the Red Sox in order in the third. The highlight, for Tomlin, came when he froze Jacoby Ellsbury on a fastball on the outside corner.
End 2nd, Red Sox 1-0: Wondering if the cold weather is taking some sting out of a few balls that look as if they are hit hard. A drive by Carlos Santana in the first and another by Travis Hafner in the second seemed to die a bit up in the air.
The Hafner fly to right is part of a perfect frame for Beckett, who has set down six straight after a leadoff double by Michael Brantley.
Mid 2nd, Red Sox 1-0: A two-out walk to David Ortiz gets Boston its first runner. Josh Tomlin then throws three straight balls to J.D. Drew, who then crushed a double into the corner in right to give the Sox a threat.
Up stepped Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who ended spring training absolutely on fire but had struggled mightily early on. He managed to squeeze a single into right to score Ortiz, but Drew was out trying to come in from second.
End 1st, 0-0: The two-seamer to lefties. The two-seamer to lefties. The two-seamer to lefties.
If you ask Terry Francona or Curt Young enough about what will make Josh Beckett effective in 2011, it's having success with that pitch in that situation. If he can get that in a good place, you'll know he is locating well.
Of course, there's so much more to it than that. But it looked like a two-seamer that Michael Brantley — the first of five straight lefties he will face — rocked for a leadoff double.
That said, it was the changeup that looked so good in Beckett's last start against Houston. He broke off a beauty (Canadian accent) to strike out Asdrubal Cabrera for the first out. Shin-Soo Choo then flew to deep center and Carlos Santana to the track in right on, you guessed it, a two-seamer out over the plate.
Beckett will want to locate the fastball a bit better. That change was nice, though.
With about 2,000 fans at Progressive Field, the noise of that drum has a little more oomph, doesn't it? Just not much to drown it out.
Mid 1st, 0-0: A good start for Josh Tomlin, pitching in front of about three dozen die-hards on a very chilly night in Cleveland.
Included in a 1-2-3 inning was a strikeout of Carl Crawford on a fastball and another to Dustin Pedroia on a curve.
Crawford has six strikeouts in 12 at-bats so far.
7:01 p.m.: It was 2008 and 2010 when Carl Crawford got a number of at-bats in the third spot, and in both years he was successful. Many of the splits people point to that make him a true No. 2 as opposed to a true No. 3 were from other years.
Don't count on him being permanently removed from the third spot going forward. He and Dustin Pedroia may be relatively interchangeable in the both spots, but Crawford at least has much more experience batting third and a heavy dose of recent success. Pedroia's time there is limited to less than 50 at-bats.
Essentially, nothing is set in stone right now but you have not seen the last of Crawford batting third.
On that note, Terry Francona told reporters earlier that he may continue to drop Crawford against lefties, a scenario we have discussed before given the fact that he is a rather average hitter against southpaws.
Anyway, we're about set to begin. Enjoy the game.
6:51 p.m.: A little about the guy the Red Sox are about to face, Josh Tomlin.
He is a rather soft-tossing righty who rarely walks anyone and pitches to contact, but obviously needs to have great location to be successful.
Tomlin was a teammate of Clay Buchholz in junior college and is from Tyler, TX.
He looked very good against the Red Sox in Fenway Park last August, his only major mistake coming in the form of an Adrian Beltre grand slam. Tomlin is the type of guy who will give you a good idea very early if he has it or not. If he's hitting his spots, he will be very tough. If he misses, the ball can be hit a long way.
5:34 p.m.: The top half of batting orders are obviously always filled with better hitters and the bottom half with those less so. That's Baseball 101.
Still, the extremes that Josh Beckett will face Tuesday night are worth noting. First off, here is the Cleveland lineup, after which will come a few numbers for you:
Michael Brantley, CF
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
Shin-Soo Choo, RF
Carlos Santana, C
Travis Hafner, DH
Orlando Cabrera, 2B
Austin Kearns, LF
Matt LaPorta, 1B
Jack Hannahan, 3B
Brantley, Cabrera, Choo and Hafner are a combined 14-for-36 (.389) with two home runs, a triple, two doubles, six walks and 14 RBIs against Beckett. Beckett has not faced Carlos Santana, but the young catcher is Cleveland's best hitter right now, going 6-for-13 with a home run in the first series of the year, so that's no easy out.
The last four members of the lineup, however, are just 11-for-57 (.193) with 10 Ks and just one walk vs. Beckett.
Could be an every-other-inning kind of thing for Beckett if things hold true to form.
As for Santana, he is a superstar in the making, but you may recall that he hit an early bump in the path to stardom last year at Fenway Park when he suffered a serious knee injury in a home-plate collision with Ryan Kalish.
Kalish felt awful about the incident, even though it was perfectly clean and an admirable hard-nosed play. Good to see Santana back in the mix…Cleveland really needs some star power and they can hitch their wagon to him.
That injury took place in the first of four games at Fenway Park that offered up plenty of drama between these two teams. The following night saw the bench-clearning incident in which Terry Francona and Josh Beckett, who tossed a gem that night, got right in the mix.
Steve Smith, the third base coach for Cleveland that nearly went at it with Francona, is still in his same position.
The next night saw Justin Masterson outduel Jon Lester as the Indians took their second game of the series before Daisuke Matsuzaka was dominant in the finale, getting the better of Cleveland righty Josh Tomlin, the starter tonight.
Certainly a few storylines as these two teams get back together.
4:27 p.m.: Of course, we focus on Carl Crawford hitting second and Jarrod Saltalamacchia getting another start. But what about Dustin Pedroia batting third?
If you want to chime in on your thoughts on that topic, check out John Beattie's poll on the site.
Pedroia had an interesting year in his limited number of games batting third in 2010. He was 2-for-22 in a handful of games in the three-hole early in the season, and then didn't bat there again until June 24. If that date jogs your memory, you will recall that he went 5-for-5 with three home runs in a thrilling extra-inning win in Colorado.
The next day, also batting third, he broke his left foot. Somewhat of a mixed bag for Pedey in the No. 3 spot in the lineup last year.
3:38 p.m.: For the second straight game, manager Terry Francona has kept us guessing as to who is playing where. There was a thought that Jason Varitek might get his first start of the year and be paired with Josh Beckett, but Jarrod Saltalamacchia will be in there for the fourth time in as many games.
Before all you Varitek die-hards go nutty, Francona said before starting Saltalamacchia on Sunday that he wants his starting catcher to get going. Since Salty remains hitless in 10 at-bats (five strikeouts along the way) and since Monday was a day off, perhaps he can get the bat going in this one.
As it is, Saltalamacchia will get the lion's share of starts against right-handers (Josh Tomlin, Cleveland's starter, is a righty), and he and Josh Beckett have enjoyed working with one another this spring, so it's not a major shock. It is, however, a bit of a mild one.
One other factor is Daisuke Matsuzaka's scheduled start on Wednesday. Matsuzaka has always had better success with Varitek behind the dish and Varitek was catching when the righty had his turnaround in March. If Varitek is not starting Wednesday, then I would be shocked.
I think some of the moves Francona has made might be with the understanding that the lights really get bright on some of these guys in a few days when the Yankees invade Fenway Park. If the Red Sox are 1-5 when the NY series starts Friday, and Saltalamacchia is still hitless and Carl Crawford is 1-for-21 or something like that (yes, he has two hits already, but I'm referencing Francona's possible mindset the other day), fans at Fenway may be looking for a target or two and some of the newcomers could step right into the line of fire. I would hope that a guy like Crawford, who will be your left fielder — and a good one — for many years, would get a warm reception at the home opener, and the same for Saltalamacchia. But with so many expectations hanging over these guys, Francona may want to make sure they get those first few hits out of the way and can return without a target on their back.
It's just a theory, and one of many. Thought I would throw it out there as Francona tries to find a permanent spot for Crawford and a solid game at the plate for Saltalmacchia.
Anyway, below is the lineup, complete with Salty batting eighth and Carl Crawford in a different spot for the third straight game. He is batting second.
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Carl Crawford, LF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
J.D. Drew, RF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Marco Scutaro, SS
1:40 p.m.: In case you are wondering about the weather in lovely Cleveland, here is a quick glimpse.
There is no rain in the forecast but temperatures will drop into the upper 30s not long after first pitch. Quite a shock to the system after three days in the Texas heat.
On Wednesday night, there is some rain in the forecast so we will have to keep our eye on that. Thursday should be cloudy but warmer.
We should have the lineups for you in a couple of hours. Sit tight and dream of that first win.
8 a.m.: It was Oct. 18, 2007, when the Red Sox were in desperate need of a win in Cleveland and gave the ball to Josh Beckett. The right-hander pulled through, throwing an absolute gem to kick off a comeback from a 3-1 deficit in the ALCS, the springboard to Boston's second World Series title in four seasons.
Tuesday evening at what figures to be a very chilly Progressive Field, the stakes won't be nearly as high, but Beckett will once again be called upon to give his team a much-needed lift.
Beckett will make his 2011 debut against the Indians, hoping to help the Red Sox turn things around after a miserable opening weekend in Texas. The Rangers walloped 11 home runs and outscored Boston 26-11 to send the Sox to their first 0-3 start since 1996.
Beckett threw five scoreless innings in a 10-0 win over Houston in the spring training finale on Wednesday. He is 3-4 with a 5.56 ERA in seven career starts against Cleveland, but he dominated them in an eight-inning masterpiece at Fenway Park last August in a game that featured a bench-clearing incident.
Josh Tomlin, who lost a pretty good duel with Daisuke Matsuzaka in Boston last year, will start for the Indians. First pitch is 7:05 p.m.
