11:39 p.m.: Dustin Pedroia was going to be off tomorrow anyway with a day game the next day, so the timing of this might be OK. He said he had a stinger that caused his left leg to go numb for a bit, but the feeling took a lot longer to come back than it did earlier in the year when he had a similar happening.
"He had some numbness, initially, going up his leg a little bit," Terry Francona said. "Just to be prudent, we got him out of there.
"He got looked at by their doctor and he's OK. He popped his head in after the game and said he was fine."
Chances are, Pedroia will test things out a bit tomorrow and we may know more about his condition then. Expect him in the lineup Wednesday afternoon, but keep an eye on this going forward.
Francona also responded to rumors that Daisuke Matsuzaka, who is getting a second opinion on his sprained UCL, is getting Tommy John surgery.
"He has an appointment to go see Dr. [Lewis] Yocum at the end of the month, and in the meantime we gave him permission to go home to Japan for personal reasons. He's not having ommy John," Francona said. "It's a shame we have to deal with reports like that because it's probably not real professional. Dice has been really good with us, communicating with us, so he's going to go visit his family and then on the way back he'll see Dr. Yocum."
11:11 p.m.: According to Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe, Dustin Pedroia just jammed his foot and may be OK. That's good news, obviously, but it's not the first time we've seen him limp on that thing this year. Something to watch for all season.
Final, Indians 3-2: I'll just say it right now. Worst loss of the year, with the potential to get even worse if the news on Dustin Pedroia is not good.
The Sox get runners on the corners with just one out in the ninth, but Carl Crawford grounds into a 4-6-3 double play. Incredible.
Wasting that opportunity is one thing. Losing a lead in the eighth is another. We will see what happens with Pedroia, which would be the toughest to swallow if he is out for some time. Hopefully, just a jammed foot or something.
Quick aside. Saw a couple of commenters wonder why Clay Buchholz was removed having thrown just 94 pitches, especially with how overworked Daniel Bard is. Buchholz threw 127 pitches his last time out, so he probably was on some sort of limit. Still, a legit question for Terry Francona.
Thanks for following along tonight. Look for more on Pedroia and the rest of the night's action on the site.
End 8th, Indians 3-2: This one went fell apart in a hurry, didn't it? Rich Hill gets his man to finish the eighth, but the damage is done.
Boston will now face Indians closer Chris Perez to try to salvage something from what could end up being a painful night. Literally and figuratively.
10:42 p.m.: Daniel Bard jogs on to protect a 2-1 lead but cannot finish the inning.
After getting a pop to third, Bard is beaten by Michael Brantley, who lines an RBI single to right and advances to second on a nice throw home by J.D. Drew.
Asdrubal Cabrera, as hot as anyone in the game, then pokes one off the wall in left to give the Indians a sudden 3-2 lead. With first base open, Boston could've considered walking Cabrera. It would be radical with Shin-Soo Choo up next, but Cabrera is that hot.
Pitching change for the Sox. Rich Hill is on. And this all started on a play that Dustin Pedroia probably makes, but Drew Sutton could not.
10:31 p.m.: Another outstanding effort from Clay Buchholz, and the Red Sox needed every bit of it.
With the tying run on second, one out and No. 9 hitter Lou Marson up, Daniel Bard is coming on. Again.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 2-1: Stranding two men in the eighth isn't anything to smile about, but the thoughts of the Red Sox are likely on the condition of Dustin Pedroia. Even in what has been a long slump, he remains a catalyst.
Little bit of a wait for Clay Buchholz with two pitching changes, an error, a walk, a hit and the injury timeout. Let's see if he can shake it off.
10:18 p.m.: A single to right field by Adrian Gonzalez had Dustin Pedroia thinking third base, but he tripped going over the second base bag and did a face plant.
He seemed to hurt that troublesome left foot or ankle in the process and limps off the field. Not a sight anyone wants to see.
Drew Sutton is on to run for Pedroia. The Indians are making a pitching change. We will send along any updates on Pedroia when we hear.
10:11 p.m.: Well, Justin Masterson gets to retire Jacoby Ellsbury after all. It comes when Ellsbury is thrown out trying to steal second.
Dustin followed with a walk, however, ending the night for Masterson. Rafael Perez is coming on to face Adrian Gonzalez with two outs in the top of the eighth.
10:06 p.m.: Indians manager Manny Acta has been tossed arguing a safe call on a Jacoby Ellsbury infield hit in the eighth.
I think Acta, and Justin Masterson, who was ruled to have missed the bag when covering on an Ellsbury grounder, had a beef. Masterson stepped aside the bag but clearly swiped it with his toe long before Ellsbury reached. It was awkward, but he definitely got it.
The Sox are set up with their speed guy on base and one out.
End 7th, Red Sox 2-1: Clay Buchholz is making this look easy. He needs all of six pitches to retire the side in the seventh and has a good chance to record his first complete game of the year and his fourth of his career.
And this Cleveland offense is no slouch.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 2-1: Orlando Cabrera makes a highlight-reel play to rob Jed Lowrie of a hit, and then leaps to pick a Carl Crawford liner out of the air for the final two outs of the seventh.
A very quick inning has Justin Masterson at 101 pitches. He went eight in a 1-0 loss his last time out. Could be another tough-luck loser in this one.
End 6th, Red Sox 2-1: It is raining in Cleveland. That's the bad news. Clay Buchholz retired Asdrubal Cabrera. That's the good.
Cabrera flew to left as part of a 1-2-3 inning for Buchholz. The other two outs came on strikeouts. Buchholz has four of those.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 2-1: As the rain resumes in Cleveland, the Red Sox waste a leadoff walk by Adrian Gonzalez and we move to the bottom half watching the skies.
End 5th, Red Sox 2-1: Among the other aspects of Jarrod Saltalamacchia's recent play has been his vast improvement behind the plate. You aren't seeing him air-mail any throws lately. In fact, he's been rather effective from a defensive standpoint.
Salty has now thrown out a perfectly respectable 26.2 percent (11-of-42) of would-be base stealers after nailing Jack Hannahan for the second out of the fifth.
Hannahan may have overslid the bag, but it was still a good throw and goes into the books under Saltalamacchia's name. I say "perfectly respectable" by comparing his percentage to where those percentages have been for Red Sox catchers in the past few years.
Anyway, the caught stealing is huge as Austin Kearns follows with a double over the head of J.D. Drew in right. Prevented a run, and Clay Buchholz got a grounder to third to escape.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 2-1: Carl Crawford entered as one of the few Red Sox hitters with a slight degree of success against Justin Masterson, going 2-for-9 with a home run in their prior meetings.
He gets an infield hit in his first at-bat of the game and then smokes a solo shot in his second. It is Crawford's first home run in nearly a month and his second in a Red Sox uniform, both on the road.
Get used to that. He won't hit many in Fenway.
End 4th, 1-1: I said you were going to be cursing Asdrubal Cabrera by the time this series ends. You may be by the time this game ends.
Of his seven straight hits, three have been home runs. Hard to imagine anyone being hotter than him right now.
9:13 p.m.: Asdrubal Cabrera worked his way into a 3-1 count against Clay Buchholz, and hammered a pitch on the outside half for his 10th home run of the season. Tie game
Mid 4th, Red Sox 1-0: David Ortiz singled for the second time against Justin Masterson, who has had to work a bit the past couple of innings.
The Sox may be able to get to the bullpen a bit earlier than expected if this keeps up. However, Cleveland's pen is fabulous, so that's not always a great thing. Its 2.92 ERA leads the AL.
Masterson is at 70 pitches.
By the way, if you are noting a lack of tweets from me tonight, it is intentional. That site is grinding my computer to an absolute halt tonight, so I'm giving it a rest. I'll try again in a few innings, but you'll have to do without the witty commentary and stat-crunching prowess until then.
End 3rd, Red Sox 1-0: Clay Buchholz has given up two runs in his last 23 2/3 innings, both of them coming on a Russell Martin homer two starts ago in New York.
He actually walked the leadoff man in the third, but a 5-4-3 double play erased him and Buchholz then got Michael Brantley to ground to third. Nice pick by Kevin Youkilis on the final out.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 1-0: The Red Sox didn't hit Justin Masterson hard in the third, but they manage to break through for the first run of the game.
Carl Crawford reached on an infield hit and moved to secound on a grounder by that guy Salty.
After Justin Masterson hit Jacoby Ellsbury with a pitch (the second straight inning with an HBP by Masterson), Dustin Pedroia grounded a single into right to plate Crawford.
End 2nd, 0-0: It's a nine-pitch inning for Clay Buchholz and we are making up for lost time right now.
By the way, if you want to watch the Sox but still get your Bruins on, follow Doug Flynn's Bruins Live Blog.
Mid 2nd, 0-0: You don't see 3-5-1 double plays very often, but when David Ortiz is hitting and the shift is on, it can happen.
Kevin Youkilis, who added to his new team record for times being hit by a pitch by absorbing a slider to start the inning, was on first when Ortiz grounded one down there.
Matt LaPorta went to third baseman Jack Hannahan covering at second, and Hannahan got it back to Justin Masterson racing over to first. J.D. Drew followed with a chopper to LaPorta, and Masterson is through two.
Masterson has given up one run in 16 career innings against his former team.
End 1st, 0-0: You will be tired of hearing Asdrubal Cabrera's name by the end of this series. He is on fire right now and always seems to be in the middle of everything good for the Indians.
Cabrera singles off the right hip of Clay Buchholz with one out in the first. Fortunately, Buchholz was just fine, and showed it by fanning Shin-Soo Choo and getting Travis Buck to ground into a force out.
Mid 1st, 0-0: I've still heard a few people wondering whether Justin Masterson is for real, which seems odd considering the stuff he showed with Boston and how highly regarded he was when in the organization.
Masterson's start is most certainly for real, and his ascension toward the top echelon in the American League began last year.
Since the end of July 2010, he is 8-5 with a 2.68 ERA. His stuff just keeps getting better, and he maintains that funky delivery that always takes some at-bats to get a feel for.
Well, the first three at-bats yield very little. Masterson retires the top third of the order on 15 pitches. Dustin Pedroia was a strikeout victim.
8:07 p.m.: The first pitch by Justin Masterson to Jacoby Ellsbury is a ball. We are finally off an running.
7:45 p.m.: The tarp is being taken off and the game should begin soon. Seems like Clay Buchholz is always involved with this stuff, doesn't it?
7:04 p.m.: As we enter a rain delay in Cleveland, there is news to pass on regarding Bobby Jenks and John Lackey.
As expected, Jenks threw a side session today. It totaled 25 pitches and Jenks will throw again Wednesday. He told reporters he may not need rehab, contrary to what was said a few days ago by Terry Francona.
Lackey, also as expected, will throw Tuesday in the bullpen. He is eligible to return May 31 and appears to be on course for that.
6:44 p.m.: I've given incorrect weather predictions many times already this year, and I think I've done so again. Reports out of Cleveland suggest that the game will not start on time.
There is a big storm entering the area, with some clearing expected later on. Keep checking back for updates.
5:20 p.m.: The latest weather forecast shows the massive storms moving across the middle portion of the country just missing Cleveland, for the most part. We could get some showers later in the night, but first pitch shouldn't be a problem.
While we await that, let's revisit the last time the Red Sox played here. It started innocently enough with a Jarrod Saltamlamacchia RBI single in the third inning of the first game. But the Indians struck for two in the fourth and one in the third and Boston produced just two hits after Saltalamacchia's base hit and fell 3-1. That made them 0-4.
The next night was the "Dennys Reyes Disaster," which should be coming to theaters soon. If you don't recall, or somehow thrust it from your memory, Reyes relieved Daisuke Matsuzaka to begin the sixth with the Sox trailing just 3-2.
The lefty hit the first two men he faced and then walked another, throwing 11 of his 12 pitches outside the zone. The Indians capitalized with a four-run rally, the big blow coming on a three-run homer by Asdrubal Cabrera, and Reyes was designated for assignment soon thereafter.
And then there was the finale. Jon Lester and Fausto Carmona dueled through seven scoreless innings and the Sox stranded a pair in the top of the eighth. The bottom half saw Daniel Bard take the mound and walk leadoff hitter Adam Everett, a weak-hitting No. 9 man. A steal of second and a sacrifice bunt moved Everett to third and Cabrera was the hero by dropping down a picture-perfect squeeze bunt to push in the only run of the day.
Boston was 0-6 and Cleveland had built up the momentum that would vault it to the top of the AL Central. Cabrera, meanwhile, has continued to be a force.
3:55 p.m.: The Indians are playing without Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner, both placed on the DL earlier this month.
Cleveland hasn't really missed a beat and enters the series leading the American Leauge in hitting at .266. They are second to the New York Yankees in terms of runs and slugging and second to Boston in on-base percentage.
Here is the lineup that Clay Buchholz will face:
Michael Brantley, CF
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
Shin-Soo Choo, RF
Travis Buck, DH
Matt LaPorta, 1B
Orlando Cabrera, 2B
Jack Hannahan, 3B
Austin Kearns, LF
Lou Marson, C
Only Orlando Cabrera has a hit against Buchholz. He is 4-for-8 with a walk in their encounters. The rest of the lineup is a combined 0-for-7 vs. the right-hander.
3:14 p.m.: You'll hate to hear this, but we are watching a band of heavy storms that could hit the Cleveland area in the coming hours.
The Indians are no stranger to rain-related issues. They have already been involved in three postponements, including two at home. It's about all that has gotten to them at Progressive Field, where they are 18-4.
We will keep an eye on the weather. In the meantime, you can stare at this lineup that will be taking the field in support of Clay Buchholz:
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
J.D. Drew, RF
Jed Lowrie, SS
Carl Crawford, LF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
8 a.m.: The Red Sox will look to avenge a sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Indians when the two teams begin a three-game set at Progressive Field on Monday night.
Boston dropped three straight in Cleveland early in the season to fall to 0-6 at the time. The three wins for the Indians are part of an 18-4 start for them at home.
The pitching matchup features former teammates at multiple levels of the Red Sox system, Clay Buchholz and Justin Masterson. Both have been excellent of late.
Buchholz is 3-0 with a 1.40 ERA in May. Masterson enters 5-2 with a 2.52 ERA overall.
First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.
