Mike Aviles closed in on Yan Gomes, sprinting around third base and toward home in the seventh inning Tuesday night. They crossed the plate — separated by only a couple steps — and Aviles let out a shout, celebrating a shift in momentum for the Indians.
“I saw that,” Indians center fielder Michael Bourn said with a laugh. “As long as they didn’t pass each other.”
Both runners scored on a two-run double by Bourn, who sent a pitch from Red Sox lefty Andrew Miller bouncing high off the wall in left-center field to help lift Cleveland to a 5-3 win at Progressive Field. The victory gave the Tribe a season-high five-game winning streak and upped the club’s American League-leading home record to 20-11.
The win also pushed another forgettable evening for Cleveland’s bullpen to the background. Indians rookie lefty T.J. House matched wits admirably with veteran Red Sox right-hander Jake Peavy, but some late missteps by the Tribe’s relief corps threatened to spoil the effort. No matter, Cleveland shaved another game off its American League Central deficit, which is 4 1/2 games behind first-place Detroit.
A little more than two weeks ago, the Indians were stuck in a 10 1/2-game hole.
“It can look so daunting when you look too far in advance,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “But when you just take care of what you’re supposed to that day, all of a sudden you start doing what you’re supposed to, you pay attention to detail, do your job, and things can mount in a good way.”
The Indians came out firing against Peavy, who gave up a string of five consecutive singles to open the first.
The hot-hitting Bourn slashed a pitch to left field, Asdrubal Cabrera followed with a hit to right and Michael Brantley brought a run in with a base hit of his own. Jason Kipnis then came through with a bunt single before Cabrera came around to score on a sliced base hit to left off the bat of Lonnie Chisenhall.
Even Peavy’s first outs of the night — a double-play grounder from Ryan Raburn — resulted in a run, plating Brantley and giving Cleveland a quick 3-0 advantage. That early burst proved important, as Peavy cruised into the seventh before the Indians’ next rally.
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