Red Sox Wrap: Xander Bogaerts Goes Off, Bullpen Shines In Win Over Indians

Everyone knew the Boston Red Sox were capable of this. Whether it’s a case of “too little, too late” remains to be seen.

The Red Sox and their beat-up pitching staff earned a 5-1 win over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday to take two of three in a pivotal series at Progressive Field. Xander Bogaerts homered twice, Rafael Devers continued mashing and seven pitchers combined to shut down the Tribe.

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It was far from an easy victory, though. The Red Sox defense committed two errors and the team’s much-maligned bullpen had to nurse a 2-1 lead until Bogaerts hit a three-run homer in the seventh. Boston also had to deal with young Indians ace Shane Bieber, who was impressive over six innings.

The Red Sox improved to 64-59 with the win while the Indians dropped to 72-49 with the loss.

Here’s how it all went down:

GAME IN A WORD
Unforeseen.

Raise your hand if you thought the 2019 Red Sox were capable of winning a “bullpen game.”

ON THE BUMP
— Brian Johnson served as the “opener” and was serviceable.

The lefty pitched two scoreless innings before running into trouble in the third frame, in which he gave up a run before exiting with two outs and men on second and third. Overall, Johnson allowed one run on two hits and two walks over 2 2/3 innings.

— Marcus Walden forced Franmil Reyes to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the threat.

— Darwinzon Hernandez worked around a hit batter to pitch a scoreless fourth inning. The young lefty got the first two outs of the fifth but was pulled after allowing a single and issuing a walk.

— Josh Taylor retired Jose Ramirez to end the inning.

— Nathan Eovaldi pitched two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. The hard-throwing right-hander looked strong, striking out two batters and forcing mostly weak contact.

— One day after earning the first save of his career, Andrew Cashner pitched another scoreless inning of relief. The right-hander allowed no baserunners and struck out one batter.

— Brandon Workman pitched a perfect ninth inning with a strikeout.

IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— The Red Sox got strong performances up and down their lineup (12 hits), but this game was all about Bogaerts and Devers.

— The young stars hit back-to-back homers in the third to give Johnson a 2-0 lead. Bogaerts’ blast was the 100th of his career, while Devers’ home run gave him hits in eight consecutive at-bats, a streak that ended during his next plate appearance. The Major League Baseball record for most hits in a row by a single player is 12, achieved by Pinky Higgins of the Red Sox (1938) and Walt Dropo of the Detroit Tigers (1952).

— Bieber kept the Boston bats quiet through his final three innings, but the offense broke through in the seventh when right-hander Nick Goody entered the game.

After Goody gave up a one-out double to Mookie Betts, the Indians elected to intentionally walk Devers (understandable), setting the stage for Bogaerts’ second blast of the game.

— Bogaerts (3-for-4, one walk) now is hitting .307 with 27 home runs and 95 RBIs. Devers, who finished 2-for-4 with a walk, has 25 homers to go along with 94 RBIs.

— Betts, Sam Travis and Marco Hernandez finished with a hit apiece. Andrew Benintendi and Christian Vazquez each had two hits.

— Bradley and J.D. Martinez both finished hitless.

TWEET OF THE GAME
Just how they drew it up.

UP NEXT
The Red Sox will get a much-needed day off Thursday before opening a three-game series in Boston against the Orioles. First pitch Friday night at Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET.