David Ortiz, Adrian Gonzalez and Will Middlebrooks went down in order in the ninth against former Red Sox farmhand Nick Hagadone.
Beckett couldn’t get out of the third inning in the defeat, while Derek Lowe went six strong for the Indians.
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Mid 9th, Indians 8-3: The Indians added some more padding against Aceves in the ninth.
The first two hitters, Jason Kipnis and Asdrubal Cabrera, got things going. Kipnis hit a single, and Cabrera was hit by a pitch.
After Aceves retired Hafner on a lineout to short for the inning’s first out, he delivered a wild pitch that allowed both Kipnis and Cabrera to move up into scoring position. The Indians would take advantage, as Carlos Santana lifted a towering sac fly to left.
Aceves’ control problems continued from there, with him walking Shin Soo-Choo after nearly taking his head off with a pitch. Fortunately for the Red Sox, Aceves would finally do something no one else could — retire Michael Brantley.
We head for the ninth with the Sox neeing a miracle to pull one out at Fenway. Nick Hagadone, a former Red Sox farmhand, will come on in the ninth.
End 8th, Indians 7-3: The Red Sox had a great opportunity to tie the game, or at least cut into the lead a little bit, but Dustin Pedroia couldn’t replicate his earlier blast. Pedroia popped out with the bases loaded, and the game remains 7-3.
The bases were juiced because Vinny Pestano had a hard time finding the strike zone. He walked Daniel Nava, Nick Punto — who was pinch-hitting for Marlon Byrd — and Ryan Sweeney before retiring Pedroia, who represented the tying run, to end the inning.
Alfredo Aceves will pitch the ninth inning despite Boston trailing 7-3.
Mid 8th, Indians 7-3: Michael Brantley has put together a nice night, tying his career high with four hits.
Brantley’s latest base knock came with one out in the seventh off Franklin Morales.
His hit was followed up with one of the better acting performances you’ll ever see. On a pitch that clearly struck Casey Kotchman’s bat, the Indians first baseman was awarded first base. Shockingly, no one on the Red Sox argued the call.
With Kotchman taking his base, Brantley moved up to second. Brantley would then move to third on a flyout, but Johnny Damon grounded out to short to end the inning.
End 7th, Indians 7-3: Well, the Sox are chipping away a bit. They’ll have to score in bulk in order to complete comeback, though.
Following Pedroia’s home run to lead off the seventh, Tony Sipp then got David Ortiz to line out to Damon in left and Adrian Gonzalez to ground out to short.
Joe Smith then came on for Sipp, and he struck Will Middlebrooks out swinging. The K came on a nice sinker by Smith.
Franklin Morales is coming on for the Sox.
9:18 p.m., Indians 7-3: Dustin Pedroia has been swinging a hot bat lately, and he just connected on one.
Pedroia went the other way for his fifth home run of the season, which cuts Boston’s deficit to four.
Mid 7th, Indians 7-2: Scott Atchison continues to prove he’s an asset to this Red Sox staff.
In his second inning of work, the righty kept the Cleveland offense in check, retiring the side in order.
Asdrubal Cabrera hit the ball hard, but it was right at Mike Aviles for the inning’s first out. Travis Hafner followed up with a flyout to right field, and Atchison concluded things by disposing of Carlos Santana by way of the K.
Derek Lowe will now give way to Tony Sipp after going the first six innings. He’s in line for the win right now, which would continue an impressive start to the season for Lowe.
End 6th, Indians 7-2: The sixth inning ended with some textbook Derek Lowe. Lowe induced a groundball double play that wiped out any chance the Sox had of cutting into Cleveland’s lead.
Kelly Shoppach was the runner on first at the time of the DP. He reached after getting plunked with one out. Ryan Sweeney was then all over a couple of pitches, but he ultimately grounded into the 4-6-3 twin killing.
Mid 6th, Indians 7-2: The Indians threatened to extend their lead against Atchison in the sixth, but the right-hander kept them off the scoreboard in the end.
The Sox needed some good defense to ensure the game stayed at 7-2, though. With one out and runners at the corners, Will Middlebrooks made a great leaping grab to take a base hit — and an RBI — away from Johnny Damon. Jason Kipnis grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Sox will send up Marlon Byrd, Kelly Shoppach and Ryan Sweeney in the bottom of the sixth.
End 5th, Indians 7-2: The Red Sox were able to get one back in the fifth, as Daniel Nava delivered an RBI double up over the right fielder’s head to make the game 7-2.
Derek Lowe started the inning out strong, inducing two more groundball outs right off the bat. He then got in some trouble, though, as Adrian Gonzalez drilled one off the Green Monster and Will Middlebrooks followed up with a single of his own.
That’s when Nava hit his double. Unfortunately for the Sox, they couldn’t do any more damage, as Mike Aviles flew out to end the inning, stranding Nava at second and Middlebrooks at third.
Scott Atchison will take the hill for the Red Sox in the sixth.
Mid 5th, Indians 7-1: Rich Hill looked pretty sharp in his first inning of work. He retired the Indians in order to keep the deficit at six.
Travis Hafner lifted a deep drive that was tracked down by Marlon Byrd on the warning track in left-center to begin the inning. Carlos Santana followed up with a flyout of this own for the inning’s second out.
Hill then made quick work of Shin-Soo Choo, striking him out on three pitches. The final strike came on a fastball that Hill dialed up to 94.
End 4th, Indians 7-1: The Sox loaded the bases, but it was all for naught. Ryan Sweeney grounded out to first base to end the inning without Boston scoring any runs.
A Will Middlebrooks groundout and a Mike Aviles strikeout sandwiched a walk by Daniel Nava in the inning. Marlon Byrd then singled to center, and Kelly Shoppach singled to left, before Sweeney hit the inning-ending chopper that was fielded cleanly by Casey Kotchman at first.
Rich Hill will now come on for the Red Sox after Andrew Miller went an inning and a third.
Mid 4th, Indians 7-1: Andrew Miller came back out and kept the Indians offense at bay. It wasn’t easy, though.
Johnny Damon hit a high chopper up over the mound to begin the inning. Miller made a nice diving effort for it, but it resulted in an infield single. Damon was then wiped off the bases on a fielder’s choice, with Jason Kipnis taking his place at first.
Miller got Asdrubal Cabrera to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to retire the side.
End 3rd, Indians 7-1: The Red Sox put runners at the corners but were unable to push across a run in the third.
After Kelly Shoppach kicked off the inning with a groundout, Ryan Sweeney reached base via an infield single. He then moved up to second on a groundout by Dustin Pedroia, and moved over to third on an infield hit by David Ortiz.
Derek Lowe buckled down and struck out Adrian Gonzalez swinging to escape any damage, though.
Mid 3rd, Indians 7-1: Andrew Miller finally stopped the bleeding. The tall lefty retired Casey Kotchman on a flyout, and he then struck out Jack Hannahan — who went deep in his first at-bat — to retire the side.
The book is closed on Beckett for the night, and the story isn’t pretty. He allowed seven runs (all earned) on seven hits in 2 1/3 innings. He struck out two, walked two and allowed two home runs. His ERA now sits at 5.97 for the season.
On an unrelated note, Fred Lynn is in the house tonight. He just got a nice ovation from the Fenway crowd when shown on the big screen.
8:01 p.m., Indians 7-1: Things have gotten a bit ugly for Beckett and the Red Sox.
After Kipnis’ home run made it 4-1, Asdrubal Cabrera singled and Travis Hafner walked. Cabrera would come around to score on a double by Shin-Soo Choo, and Michael Brantley then plated Choo and Hafner with a double the other way.
Andrew Miller is now taking over for the Sox. The Fenway Faithful really let Beckett have it as he exited the game, providing a mock cheer when Bobby V came out to make the change, then booing extensively as Beckett walked off.
7:50 p.m., Indians 4-1: Jason Kipnis takes Beckett deep to lead off the third inning. That extends Cleveland’s lead to 4-1.
End 2nd, Indians 3-1: The Red Sox chipped away in the home half of the second.
With two outs and Adrian Gonzalez on third, Mike Aviles delivered a base hit up the middle that just got past the glove of shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.
Gonzalez reached on a double into the left-center field gap, and then moved over to third on groundout by Daniel Nava.
Mid 2nd, Indians 3-0: The second inning didn’t go quite as smoothly for Josh Beckett.
Beckett started things off on a positive note, striking out Carlos Santana on a foul tip into the mitt. He then issued a free pass to Shin-Soo Choo, though, and Michael Brantley followed up with a double down the left-field line to put runners at second and third.
It only got worse from there.
Casey Kotchman’s sacrifice fly gave Cleveland its first run of the game, and Jack Hannahan then added some cushion with a two-run home run. Hannahan’s blast landed in the right-field seats.
Following the home run, the boo birds were out in full effect.
End 1st, 0-0: Derek Lowe enjoyed an easy first inning, retiring Ryan Sweeney, Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz in order.
Sweeney and Pedroia both grounded out to Jason Kipnis at second. Ortiz then saw a good mix of pitches from Lowe before popping out to shortstop on a cut fastball to end the inning.
Mid 1st, 0-0: Johnny Damon’s first at-bat of the night didn’t go so well. Josh Beckett sat him down on three pitches, with the last strike coming on a nasty curveball.
Beckett then got Jason Kipnis to fly out to right before Asdrubal Cabrera — who always seems to kill the Sox — hit a ground-rule double. Cabrera swiped third base with Travis Hafner at the dish, marking his second theft of the season.
The baserunner didn’t matter, though, as Hafner grounded out to Dustin Pedroia at second base to end the inning.
7:08 p.m.: This is only the second time in Derek Lowe’s career that he’s faced the Red Sox. He’s 0-1, as he gave up three earned runs on seven hits in a losing effort the last time he faced his former club.
7:06 p.m.: Former Red Sox outfielder Tom Brunansky delivered today’s first pitch. And as Eck would say, it had a little hair on it.
7:03 p.m.: We’re about ready for baseball here at Fenway Park after a moving pregame tribute to Carl Beane.
6:05 p.m.: In honor of Fenway Park public address announcer Carl Beane, who died in a car accident on Wednesday, there will be no PA announcer for Thursday night’s game against the Indians.
It’s a nice gesture by the club, as Beane will certainly be missed.
Click here to read our own Mike Cole’s story on the voice of Fenway Park.
6:00 p.m.: Daniel Nava has been called up by the Red Sox, and he’ll be in the lineup for Thursday night’s showdown with the Indians. He’ll bat sixth and play left field.
Here’s what the rest of Thursday’s lineups look like:
Red Sox (12-18)
Ryan Sweeney, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Daniel Nava, LF
Mike Aviles, SS
Marlon Byrd, CF
Kelly Shoppach, C
Josh Beckett, P
Indians (17-11)
Johnny Damon, LF
Jason Kipnis, 2B
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
Travis Hafner, DH
Carlos Santana, C
Shin-Soo Choo, RF
Michael Brantley, CF
Casey Kotchman, 1B
Jack Hannahan, 3B
Derek Lowe, P
8 a.m. ET: After a three-game stint on the road, the Red Sox are hoping to turn around their struggles at home. The team is currently 4-10 at Fenway Park and will look for Josh Beckett to end that trend against the Indians. Beckett, who is 2-3 with a 4.45 ERA, is making his return to the rotation after missing last Saturday’s start with a sore lat muscle.
For his career, Beckett is 4-5 with a 4.84 ERA in his career against the Indians. He will take on former Red Sox pitcher and current Indians pitcher Derek Lowe, who is shining with a 4-1 record and 2.39 ERA. In Lowe’s last appearance, the veteran received a no-decision after holding the Rangers to two runs over six innings.
For more details and analysis from Fenway Park, follow NESN.com’s live blog. Tune into NESN’s pregame show at 6 p.m. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.
