Picking up where they left off this weekend, the Red Sox continued churning out runs by the bunches and supported a strong outing by starter Eduardo Rodriguez, cruising to a 9-1 victory over the Indians on Tuesday night at Fenway Park.
Rodriguez turned in a career-best eight innings, limiting Cleveland to one run on six hits and ending with five strikeouts against no walks. His lone blemish came in the seventh, when Michael Brantley led off with a home run to account for the Tribe’s only breakthrough against the left-handed rookie.
“He got in a great run for several innings,” Boston interim manager Torey Lovullo said. “He was comfortable, free and easy.”
Indians right-hander Trevor Bauer received a quick hook after giving up five runs on six hits over 1 2/3 innings, forcing the Indians to dip into their bullpen early. In seven second-half starts, Bauer is 1-5 with a 7.05 ERA, including three outings of fewer than five innings.
“He’s fighting it right now. I think we all know that,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “When you’re going really good and you feel good, you’re confident and you’re throwing pitches with conviction. I think right now he’s probably second-guessing himself a little bit, like, ‘Am I throwing the right pitch? Or, are they hitting it when I do?’ We’ve got to get him back to being confident.”
Leading the early offensive charge for Boston was Mookie Betts, who pulled a pitch from Bauer off the Green Monster in left for a three-run double in a four-run second inning for the Red Sox. First baseman Travis Shaw scattered four singles, his seventh multihit game in 22 appearances this season, and Blake Swihart chipped in a pair of run-scoring hits in the win.
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