Justin Masterson heard the groan from the crowd after throwing a ball to Red Sox slugger David Ortiz two batters into the sixth inning on Monday night. The Indians starter figured it was simply frustration from the locals over a mislocated pitch.
“I did kind of hear the disappointment,” Masterson said. “But I didn’t really realize what it was for.”
What the sinkerballer did not know at the time was that ball to Big Papi snapped a streak of 25 consecutive strikes in the heart of his overpowering outing. After some early escape acts, Masterson settled into a rhythm, rocking and firing and guiding Cleveland to a 3-2 victory over Boston in the opener of a three-game set at Progressive Field.
For one inning, Masterson was immaculate. For seven, he was dominant.
“For a while there,” Indians manager Terry Francona said, “he was throwing all his pitches with a lot of conviction, which is a good sign. I think when you’re throwing that many strikes and you’re throwing them with all pitches, you’re going to be confident.”
Masterson gained strength as he moved deeper into his outing, turning in a strong performance that helped Cleveland end Boston’s seven-game winning streak. The right-hander flirted with trouble, but ultimately did enough to withstand a late hiccup from the bullpen (Bryan Shaw yielded a two-run home run to Xander Bogaerts in the eighth) and help the Tribe collect its fourth straight win.
The Indians’ offense came through early against Boston starter John Lackey, giving Masterson a small cushion to use as he saw fit.
After a leadoff walk to Cleveland center fielder Michael Bourn in the first, Lackey issued a one-out free pass to Michael Brantley. That set things up for hot-hitting Lonnie Chisenhall, who slashed a pitch down the left-field line for a base hit that brought both runners home, giving the Indians a quick 2-0 advantage.
In the third, Bourn led off by slicing a pitch to deep center field, where it sailed beyond the reach of Boston center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. Bourn raced around the basepaths for his fifth triple of the season and was then able to jog across the plate on a single to right by Asdrubal Cabrera.
That was all Lackey relinquished in his eight innings for Boston.
“Lackey threw a great game,” Francona said. “We scratched a couple early and got another one, and kind of hung on. He’s one of the better pitchers right now.”
It was not much in the way of support, but it proved sufficient in the end for Masterson. The big sinkerballer showed his appreciation with seven shutout frames, bowing out after 105 pitches (67 strikes) against his former team.
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