BOSTON — Pinch-runner Jarrod Saltalamacchia dived across home plate to score the winning run on Jacoby Ellsbury’s single in the ninth inning and the Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 3-2 on a rainy Tuesday night.
Boston Red Sox's Jarrod Saltalamacchia dives for home plate to score the winning run as Cleveland Indians catcher Carlos Santana tries to tag him in the ninth inning yesterday. (AP photo.)
Jason Varitek singled with one out in the ninth against Vinnie Pestano (1-1) and Saltalamacchia ran for him. Josh Reddick followed with a single that sent Saltalamacchia to second.
Ellsbury then singled, setting up the play at the plate. Center fielder Eziquiel Carrera threw home and catcher Carlos Santana caught the ball wide of the plate, but Saltalamacchia won the race and scored.
The start of the game was delayed by rain for one hour, 35 minutes.
Jonathan Papelbon (3-0) got the win after shutting down the Indians on just 10 pitches in the ninth. Boston posted its six walk-off win of the season.
Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall hit solo homers for Cleveland’s runs.
Indians starter David Huff gave up one unearned run and three hits in five innings, and tied his career high with six strikeouts. Huff has allowed just one earned run in three starts this season.
Boston scored in the second on a wild pitch that actually struck out Varitek. Huff followed that by striking out Darnell McDonald and Ellsbury.
Huff left with a 2-1 lead on Chisenhall’s homer into the right-field corner in the fourth.
Reliever Rafael Perez took over for the Indians in the sixth and the first batter he faced was Kevin Youkilis, who tied it at 2 with a towering solo shot that hit one of the signs above the Green Monster.
Youkilis was ejected after his next at-bat, when he struck out on a checked swing and argued on his way back to the dugout.
Kipnis, who homered in his last at-bat Monday, drove the first pitch he saw from Josh Beckett into the Boston bullpen in the first to put the Indians up 1-0.
Beckett was pulled after six innings, allowing six hits and striking out seven.
Notable
- Red Sox SS Marco Scutaro, who left Monday night’s game with dizziness, was sent for tests Tuesday that cleared him to play, but he was held out of the starting lineup by manager Terry Francona. Scutaro entered the game in the ninth inning after Youkilis’ ejection. Mike Aviles, who started at short, moved over to third.
- Injured Boston SS Jed Lowrie is playing rehab games at Triple-A Pawtucket, where he went 1 for 3 Tuesday and could return soon.
Tonight
- Who: Cleveland at Boston
- Time: 7:10
- Where: Fenway Park
- Pitchers: Carrasco (8-9, 4.67 ERA) vs. Wakefield (6-4, 5.06)
- TV/radio: Channel 3, SportsTime Ohio; WEOL 930-AM, WTAM 1100-AM
