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Red Sox-Indians Preview

Apr 29, 2009 - 7:19 PM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

Boston (13-7) at Cleveland (8-13), 7:05 p.m. EDT

After snapping their lengthy win streak in disheartening fashion, the Boston Red Sox will try to start another behind an improving starter who has never lost to the Cleveland Indians.

Looking for a third straight quality start, Jon Lester will attempt to help the Red Sox win Wednesday night's finale of their three-game road series.

Despite 14 hits, the Red Sox (13-7) committed three costly errors to end their 11-game win streak in Tuesday night's 9-8 defeat, the last of which allowed the winning run to score with two outs in the ninth. Reliever Javier Lopez failed to catch a routine toss from first baseman Kevin Youkilis while trying to cover the bag.

"It's a play a pitcher makes a thousand times in his career," Lopez said. "I just took my eyes off it. There's no real excuse for it. It's a tough way to break a winning streak."

Of the nine runs Boston allowed, only five were earned. That's only two fewer than Lester (1-2, 4.88 ERA) has surrendered in his last three starts against Cleveland.

The left-hander has beaten the Indians twice in that time while giving up seven runs. He yielded one run over six innings in a 6-1 win Sept. 25. After giving up 11 runs in his first two starts, Lester has settled in to allow two over his past two with 16 strikeouts in those 13 innings.

Mike Lowell extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a third-inning single and is hitting .392 (20-for-51) with 18 RBIs during the run. In his first game since July 11, shortstop Julio Lugo was one of four players with at least two hits for Boston, which has batted .319 over the last 12 games.

Lugo missed most of last year with a strained left quadriceps and hurt his right knee in spring training, beginning the season on the disabled list following arthroscopic surgery.

In rallying from three early deficits, the Indians produced nine runs and 13 hits - the most since their 22-run, 25-hit outburst in the new Yankee Stadium on April 18. In its previous eight games, Cleveland (8-13) had scored 23 runs while batting .218.

"We need a win like this," third baseman Mark DeRosa told the team's official Web site. "It was a long night. We were able to keep grinding."

DeRosa, who scored the winning run Tuesday, had a career high-tying four runs and four hits. DeRosa, who was hitting .195 heading into the series, is batting .406 (13-for-32) in his last seven meetings with Boston with two four-hit games in that span.

Victor Martinez, who is hitting a team-best .388, is on an eight-game hitting streak and is 4-for-6 against Lester.

The two will try to provide a struggling Fausto Carmona (1-3, 7.36) some support following another lackluster effort. The right-hander, who won 19 games in 2007, has allowed at least four earned runs in his four starts this season and hasn't pitched more than six innings.

Carmona has proved more effective as a starter than reliever against Boston. In two relief appearances, he gave up five runs, but has allowed four in two starts and pitched eight scoreless innings in a 1-0 victory July 25.