SB Nation Cleveland - Red Sox Vs. Indians: Cleveland Splits Series After Sunday's 14-1 Blowout Loss

Indians Vs. Red Sox Final Score: Cleveland Demolished By Boston In Series Finale, 14-1

2012-08-12T21:07:38Z

Any momentum gained from Saturday's 5-2 victory dissipated immediately for Manny Acta's Indians on Sunday afternoon at Progressive Field, as the visiting Red Sox pounded Cleveland pitchers in a 14-1 blowout win.

Making just his third career start, Indians right-hander Corey Kluber was shelled early and often by the heart of Boston's lineup, and ended up leaving the mound after 3.1 innings with six earned runs, four walks and seven hits allowed. Josh Tomlin, who next entered in hopes of providing relief for his errant starter, hardly fared much better against Boston's stacked lineup of sluggers and served up seven more earned runs before he could even record five outs.

The 27-year-old Tomlin left the game in the fifth with his team down 13-1 on the scoreboard, as Indians hitters were completely unable to mount much of anything against Boston pitcher Jon Lester. Lester's 12 strikeouts marked a season-high, and helped the once-skidding starter bounce out of a serious cold spell that has plagued him as of late.

Things won't get much easier for Cleveland to kick off the upcoming week, as the team travels to Los Angeles to face Mike Trout and the Angels for a three-game series beginning Monday.

Check out Let's Go Tribe for more Indians coverage, and be sure to visit Over The Monster for more on the Red Sox. Also head over to Baseball Nation for even more MLB news and analysis.

Indians Vs. Red Sox: Corey Kluber Starts As Cleveland Looks To Take Series Sunday

2012-08-12T15:30:14Z

After a 5-2 win Saturday night behind a strong outing from Zach McAllister, the Indians will be hoping to get a similar outing from a starter fighting for his spot in the rotation in Corey Kluber.

Kluber (0-0, 6.10 ERA) went six-plus in his last start against Minnesota and gave up three runs with three strikeouts, so another quality start Sunday afternoon would boost his chances with Roberto Hernandez returning from his long absence at some point this week.

Jon Lester, who starts for Boston, continues to look mediocre--he's given up at least four runs if five of last six outings, including four against the Rangers in 6 2/3 innings. Lester (5-10, 5.36 ERA) has found more success on the road, with a 3-2 record and a 3.34 ERA away from Fenway.

Cleveland second baseman Jason Kipnis will be out of the lineup again Sunday with neck stiffness.

First pitch from Progressive Field is scheduled for 12:05 pm CT, and the game can be seen locally on STO.

For more on the Indians, head over to Let's Go Tribe, and be sure to check out Baseball Nation.

Indians Vs. Red Sox Final Score: Zach McAllister Tosses 8 Strong Innings In 5-2 Cleveland Win

2012-08-12T01:24:40Z

Powered by a crucial bounce-back start from right-hander Zach McAllister, the Cleveland Indians took command of their four-game series with Boston on Saturday night with a 5-2 victory.

McAllister, who gave up nine runs (two earned) in his previous start versus the Twins, put forth a career effort on Saturday to earn a much-needed victory. The 24-year-old yielded only three hits with no walks to Red Sox batters over eight innings, and was beaten solely by an Adrian Gonzalez double in the fourth inning that plated two Boston runners.

Brent Lillibridge, the unquestioned offensive catalyst in the game, finished 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI. The defensive-oriented infielder also broke the scoring in the third inning with a solo home run, representing his first of the season and 16th of his career.

Looking to wrap up the series, the Indians will send 26-year-old rookie Corey Kluber to the mound to face struggling Boston pitcher Jon Lester in Sunday's finale.

Check out Let's Go Tribe for more Indians coverage, and visit Over The Monster for more on the Red Sox. Also head over to Baseball Nation for even more MLB news and analysis.

Indians Vs Red Sox: Lineups Announced For Saturday

2012-08-11T19:28:39Z

Looking to bounce back from their loss on Friday, the Cleveland Indians will turn to pitcher Zach McAllister (4-4, 3.60 ERA) for Saturday's game.

McAllister struggled in his last start, giving up 9 runs in 1.2 innings pitched against the Minnesota Twins on Aug. 6 (though only two of the runs were earned). Against Boston earlier in the year, he put in a solid effort but failed to get any run support, pitching seven innings and giving up four earned runs in the 4-1 loss on May 12.

The Indians will face Franklin Morales, who has moved back and forth between starting and the bullpen. Both teams are shuffling their lineups from Friday, with the Indians moving Jason Donald to the leadoff position and Boston replacing Will Middlebrooks, Kelly Shoppach and Scott Podsednik.

The full lineups are:

Cleveland Indians

1. Jason Donald (R) 2B
2. Asdrubal Cabrera (S) SS
3. Shin-Soo Choo (L) RF
4. Carlos Santana (S) DH
5. Michael Brantley (L) CF
6. Shelley Duncan (R) LF
7. Brent Lillibridge (R) 3B
8. Casey Kotchman (L) 1B
9. Lou Marson (R) C

Boston Red Sox

1. Jacoby Ellsbury (L) CF
2. Carl Crawford (L) LF
3. Dustin Pedroia (R) 2B
4. Adrian Gonzalez (L) 1B
5. Cody Ross (R) RF
6. Jarrod Saltalamacchia (S) C
7. Ryan Lavarnway (R) DH
8. Mike Aviles (R) SS
9. Pedro Ciriaco (R) 3B

For more on the Cleveland Indians, check out Let's Go Tribe. You can also head over to SB Nation's main MLB hub at Baseball Nation.

Roberto Hernandez Pitches Strongly In 4th Minor-League Start

2012-08-11T17:10:18Z

Cleveland Indians pitcher Roberto Hernandez seems to be rounding into shape after completing his fourth minor-league start. Pitching for the AAA Columbus Clippers on Friday against the Indianapolis Indians, Hernandez lasted seven innings and only gave up four hits and one earned run, striking out five.

With his league-mandated, three-week suspension ending on Saturday, Hernandez could be called up sooner rather than later. Speaking to the Columbus Dispatch, Clippers manager Mike Sarbaugh sounded positive about his chances:

"He looked very good tonight," Sarbaugh said. "He looks ready to go to me. I thought his fastball had good sink and good life to it. It was night and day from his last outing."

Through four minor-league starts, split evenly between the Clippers and the Class A Lake County Captains, Hernandez has an ERA of 4.07 and 20 strikeouts in 24.1 innings pitched.

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Indians Vs. Red Sox: Cleveland Tries To Bounce Back As Series With Boston Continues

2012-08-11T13:45:23Z

The Cleveland Indians (52-61) hope to heat up their offense on Saturday evening when they host the Boston Red Sox (56-58) in the third game of a four-game weekend series at Progressive Field.

The Indians were stymied by Red Sox' starter Clay Buchholz on Friday night as the right-handers threw a complete game two-hitter as Boston evened the series with a 3-2 win which snapped a three-game losing streak for the Sox.

Cleveland will turn to right-hander Zach McAllister (4-4, 3.60 ERA) to try to avoid streaking in the wrong direction. McAllister has suffered from a lack of run support of late and has not won a game since beating Tampa Bay on July 16h.

The Red Sox will counter with Franklin Morales (3-2, 3.14 ERA) on the mound to build on the gem from Buchholz. Morales is coming off of a strong outing when he gave up on run and three hits in six innings to earn a win over Minnesota.

The game is scheduled to start at 6:05 p.m. ET and will be televised on SportsTime Ohio.

For more on the Cleveland Indians, check out Let's Go Tribe. You can also head over to SB Nation's main MLB hub at Baseball Nation.

Red Sox Vs. Indians: Cleveland Falls 3-2 As Boston's Clay Buchholz Dominates

2012-08-11T01:55:15Z

The Indians modest two-game winning streak was snapped on Friday night, as Cleveland fell 3-2 to the visiting Boston Red Sox.

Chris Seddon pitched well for Cleveland, allowing just two earned runs in six innings of work, but he was outdone by Boston starter Clay Buchholz, who threw a complete game two-hitter for his 10th win of the season.

Asdrubal Cabrera had the only two hits for the Indians, including a home run in the first inning off Buchholz. It was the shortstop's 13th homer on the year, and 49th run batted in.

The two team's will square off again on Saturday, with first pitch schedule for 6:05pm EST from Progressive Field. Zach McAllister will be on the mound for Cleveland, opposed by Franklin Morales of the Red Sox.

For more on the Cleveland Indians, check out Let's Go Tribe. You can also head over to SB Nation's main MLB hub at Baseball Nation.

Indians Vs. Red Sox: Tribe Looks To Extend Winning Streak Friday Night

2012-08-10T16:46:38Z

On Friday night, the Cleveland Indians (52-60) will host the second game of a four-game weekend set against the Boston Red Sox (55-58).

After dropping 11-straight games dating back to July 27, the Indians have appeared to be turning the team's fortune in the right direction after winning their two most recent games and will look to tie together three-straight wins with consecutive victories against Boston.

The Red Sox on the other hand, have been struggling for much of the season. The team has dropped six of their last eight and will look to snap a three-game losing streak with a win on Friday night.

The projected starters are Chris Seddon for the Indians (0-0, 7.71 ERA over 4.2 innings pitched in one start/two games) and Clay Bucholz for the Red Sox (9-3, 4.48 ERA).

For more on the Cleveland Indians, check out Let's Go Tribe. You can also head over to SB Nation's main MLB hub at Baseball Nation.