• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Cabrera's 2nd HR good on review, Indians top Red Sox

Aug 2, 2011 - 3:58 AM Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Asdrubal Cabrera, with the aid of instant replay, homered off the unlikeliest of relievers to break a tie game in the eighth inning and lift the Cleveland Indians over the Boston Red Sox, 9-6.

Daniel Bard (1-5), the owner of a 26 1/3 scoreless-inning streak before entering from the bullpen in the eighth, gave up a leadoff single to Jason Kipnis before facing Cabrera, who had hit a two-run homer earlier in the game.

Cabrera turned on Bard's low 1-2 breaking ball and lined it down the right- field line. The ball caromed off a fan's knee in the first row near Pesky's Pole, came back onto the field and was originally ruled a base hit.

But Cabrera and Indians manager Manny Acta protested the call, leading to a replay review that correctly reversed the ruling to break a 5-5 deadlock.

"From my perspective it looked like it stayed in the park, but it looks like they got it right," Bard said. "The pitch to Cabrera I thought was a pretty good pitch and I didn't realize Lackey had thrown him quite of few of those same sliders down and in. I think he was probably sitting on that one. So I probably should've stayed hard with him there."

The homer sparked an Indians club coming off a disappointing 2-6 homestand and helped get them within two games of AL Central-leading Detroit.

Carl Crawford and Jarrod Saltalamacchia both homered for the Red Sox, who posted a 20-6 record in July to stay atop the competitive AL East.

Matt LaPorta added an RBI double after Cabrera's disputed homer, and Kipnis, a recent call-up, tacked on a solo shot for the second consecutive game in the ninth for a 9-5 cushion.

Jacoby Ellsbury knocked in a run in the ninth, but Chris Perez finished off the win.

"Big win...especially in this place against a team like that. It means a lot," Acta said. "Asdrubal Cabrera had a huge night one more time for us. He's been there for us the whole season."

Neither starter factored in the decision, with the win credited to Rafael Perez (4-1) for throwing a scoreless inning of relief. Josh Tomlin surrendered 10 hits and five runs in a six-inning start for Cleveland, and Boston's John Lackey was touched for five runs on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings of work.

Michael Brantley countered Marco Scutaro's RBI single in the second with a run-scoring double in the third.

Boston answered with two in its half of the third, as Kevin Youkilis tripled high off the wall in center and Crawford cranked a solo home run over the 380- foot sign in right field. Youkilis was tagged out a home on his triple after trying to score on a wayward relay throw.

Cabrera singled to lead off the fourth, moved to third on a Carlos Santana base hit and scored on Kosuke Fukudome's groundout.

Fenway Park's short porch in right was abused in the sixth. Cabrera and Travis Hafner went back-to-back over the wall in the top half, with Hafner following Cabrera's go-ahead two-run blast with one into Boston's bullpen.

Crawford doubled off the Green Monster in the bottom half, and Saltalamacchia muscled a broken-bat homer to right to tie the game.

Game Notes

Bard yielded his first run since May 23, a span of 25 scoreless appearances... Kipnis and Cabrera each had three of Cleveland's 13 hits...Scutaro left the game in the fourth inning due to dizziness. The newly-acquired Mike Aviles played shortstop in his place and went 1-for-3...Saltalamacchia has a career- high tying nine-game hitting streak... Boston's Adrian Gonzalez has hit safely in 11 straight, though his streak of seven consecutive multi-hit games ended with a 1-for-4 effort...Lackey had won his previous four starts...Indians starter Carlos Carrasco was suspended six games and fined an undisclosed amount of money by Major League baseball for throwing at Royals designated hitter Billy Butler last week, but the suspension is being appealed and Carrasco will start Wednesday's contest...One day after acquiring left-hander Erik Bedard in a trade with the Mariners, the Red Sox announced starter Clay Buchholz could be lost for the season with a stress fracture in his back. Bedard is scheduled to pitch Thursday in the finale of this four-game series.