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.
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