Guardians 7 - 3 Red Sox
Final
  for this game

Indians top Red Sox, climb closer in AL Central

Aug 5, 2011 - 5:22 AM

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Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Carlos Santana clubbed a two-run homer and Justin Masterson pitched six effective innings, as the Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 7-3, at Fenway Park.

Santana added an RBI single and Travis Hafner smacked a run-scoring double for Cleveland, which salvaged a split of this four-game series. Masterson (9-7) limited his former team to three runs on five hits with nine strikeouts and one walk.

"It was a random mix of everything," Masterson said of his pitch selection. "There's nothing overly consistent about anything."

The Indians closed to within three games of first-place Detroit in the American League Central.

Erik Bedard tossed five innings in his debut for Boston, allowing three runs on seven hits. The left-hander, who the Red Sox acquired right at Sunday's non-waiver trade deadline, did not walk a batter while fanning five. Bedard posted a 4-7 record with a 3.45 ERA in 16 starts with the Seattle Mariners this season.

"I thought his line was worse than the way he pitched," Boston manager Terry Francona said about Bedard.

The loss drops Boston into a tie with the New York Yankees atop the AL East standings. The Yankees come to Fenway for a three-game set starting Friday.

"That's what makes baseball fun. It's a great division we're in," Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. "It's a lot of good competition."

Franklin Morales (0-1) relieved Bedard to begin the sixth, and Santana followed a leadoff double by Hafner with a tiebreaking drive over the center- field wall. Santana's 16th home run of the year put the visitors up 5-3.

Boston's Andrew Miller gave up RBI doubles to Hafner and Kosuke Fukudome in the seventh and ninth innings.

The Red Sox jumped out to a 2-0 lead during their first trip to the plate. Adrian Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to 14 games with an RBI double off the Green Monster and scored on a two-out single by David Ortiz.

Cleveland quickly tied the game in the second. With two men in scoring position, Matt LaPorta reached on an infield single when Bedard failed to cover first base once Gonzalez fielded the ball. Santana scored on the play, and Fukudome hustled home on a groundout by Austin Kearns. LaPorta was then tagged out at home trying to score on Jason Donald's single to left field.

Santana put the Indians up 3-2 with an RBI single in the third, but Boston pulled even on Josh Reddick's solo blast to right field in the fourth.

Game Notes

In the second, Masterson tied a MLB record with four strikeouts in one inning. He became the sixth player in club history and first since Chuck Finley (August 16, 2000) to accomplish the feat...Pedroia went 0-for-4 to halt a 25-game hitting streak at Fenway Park...Cleveland pitcher Carlos Carrasco began serving his six-game suspension Thursday for throwing at the head of Kansas City's Billy Butler last week.






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