BOSTON — Mike Lowell didn’t take long to satisfy the fans that were happy to see him back.

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With the crowd still on its feet during a standing ovation, Lowell hit a two-run homer on the first pitch he saw after coming off the disabled list to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 3-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.

“It was definitely more than I expected,” Lowell said of the Fenway Park crowd’s response. “I don’t remember too many ovations like that. I was glad I could come through as quickly as I did.”

Josh Beckett dominated for eight innings, holding Cleveland to one run on three hits, then got in the middle of a benches-clearing melee.

But it was the return of Lowell that made his night.

“With him being one of my best friends in baseball, that was a great moment,” Beckett said.

More photos below.

The Red Sox won on the day they lost first baseman Kevin Youkilis. He went on the 15-day disabled list with a torn muscle in his right thumb and was going to see a hand specialist, unsure whether he would need season-ending surgery.

“It’s a freak thing,” he said. “Zero athletes have had this that (the doctors) know. Similar things to it, but not exactly. I don’t know how it started.”

But the spirited Youkilis was on the field in the eighth inning when the benches emptied. A pitch by Indians reliever Jensen Lewis that sailed behind Adrian Beltre started things. Lewis, Indians third-base coach Steve Smith and Beckett were ejected.

“That’s part of the game. The players usually take care of their own thing and probably some of our guys probably felt that our best player was hit on purpose and they were probably trying to protect the guy,” Cleveland manager Manny Acta said. “There’s no room in the game for any of that kind of stuff, but they usually work it out themselves. A lot of pushing and shoving, some tough guys trying to find other guys but nothing major.”

No punches were thrown, though Smith and Red Sox manager Terry Francona got into a heated exchange.

Cleveland’s Shin-Soo Choo was on the ground for a while after getting hit by a pitch in the knee in the third. He got up, trotted to first and stole second on the next pitch.

Bill Hall added a solo homer for Boston.

Lowell, who had been on the DL since June 24 with a strained right hip, was expecting to be traded at the July 31 deadline or possibly released the last day or two before he was activated.

“It’s been an interesting road,” Francona said.

Lowell also made a nice stab on Trevor Crowe’s hard grounder to first base in the fifth and dove to the bag for the out.

Beckett (3-1), making his third start after spending just over two months on the DL with a strained lower back, gave up a solo homer to Lou Marson and two singles, striking out eight and walking none.

Jonathan Papelbon worked the ninth for his 25th save, becoming the first pitcher in major league history with 25 saves in each of his first five full seasons.

David Huff (2-10), recalled from Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday, gave up three runs, seven hits, walked two and struck out two in 5 1-3 innings. He was sent to the minors after losing to the Pirates on June 19.

“The pitches I wish that I can honestly take back would be the two home runs pitches,” said Huff, who faced Lowell when he was on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket on July 24. “First pitch to Lowell was a fastball away that kind of cut back over the plate.”

Indians reliever Justin Germano threw a pitch behind David Ortiz in the seventh inning. Ortiz took a slight glance out to the mound and Beckett was on the top step staring out.

Lewis then threw the first pitch of the inning behind Beltre. Home plate umpire Tim Welke got between Beltre and the mound and seemed to have things under control until Beckett led the Red Sox players out of their dugout, screaming and pointing.

Notes

• Ortiz’s second-inning infield hit extended his hitting streak to 12 games, his longest since 13 straight in July 2007.
• Francona said Jacoby Ellsbury, out since May 28 with fractured ribs, would be activated Wednesday. “He brings something to our lineup that we’ve been missing,” he said of the speedy outfielder.
• The Indians put C Carlos Santana on the 15-day disabled list, a day after he was carried from the field on a stretcher following a collision at home plate Monday. He has a strained left knee.

MEDINA — It was a humid Monday night and the action was even hotter, but Nathan “Boy” Owens didn’t break a sweat.
The 1992 Black River High graduate was flawless in his 1992 Ford Crown Victoria at the Medina County Fair’s ’80s and Newer Demolition Derby, winning the feature race over New London’s Dustin Kidd.
It was […]

ELYRIA TWP. — Firefighters put out a fire at a vacant home on Samuel Street this morning.

The fire, reported a little after 11 a.m. was at 42000 Samuel, which was boarded up and vacant, according to neighbors.

According to Elyria Assistant Fire Chief Ron Brlas, the house had been the scene of a previous fire, which is why it was boarded up. He didn’t know when that fire was.

The Elyria Fire Department responded, as all of Samuel Street except for 42000 appears to be in the city. 42000 is actually in Elyria Township, and the Elyria Township Fire Department was later called out.

According to Brlas, the fire seemed to start in the kitchen and traveled up an interior wall to the home’s attic, where it ignited debris.

He said smoke was showing when firefighters arrived, and they had the fire out in about 10 to 15 minutes.

Brlas said the fire investigation has been turned over to the Elyria Township Fire Department.

Since the house is vacant and has no utilities connected, however, he acknowledged it “opens up the suspicion” that the fire might have been intentionally set. He said there was “nothing visible right off hand” to indicate the fire was arson.

Brlas said that because the house had burned before and was boarded up and vacant, establishing a damage estimate for this fire would be difficult.

TORONTO — He’s only 24, but Asdrubal Cabrera is about the closest thing the Cleveland Indians have to a clubhouse leader these days. He showed why Sunday.

Cabrera hit a two-run homer, Jason Donald added a solo shot and the Indians beat the Blue Jays 5-4, their sixth win in seven games against Toronto.

“We played really good ball these last couple of games,” Cabrera said. “We want to play like that the whole rest of the season.”

Major league home run leader Jose Bautista, Aaron Hill and Yunel Escobar all hit solo homers for Toronto, but the Blue Jays lost for ninth time in 13 homes games against the Indians.

Cleveland has traded pitchers Jake Westbrook and Kerry Wood, outfielder Austin Kearns and infielder Jhonny Peralta in the past week, depleting the team of much of its veteran presence and leaving just two players (Shelley Duncan and Travis Hafner) over the age of 30.

When it comes to filling the leadership void, Indians manager Manny Acta said Cabrera “brings a lot to the table.”

“He’s the right guy to start leading these kids out here,” Acta said. “He’s been in the big leagues for close to four years, he’s been in the playoffs with the Indians. I’m expecting him to take a bigger role.”

More photos below.

Donald said he considers Cabrera a clubhouse role model.

“He’s got some time here,” Donald said. “He came up with Cleveland, he’s been in the big leagues for a couple of years. He’s a guy that we look to and he’s done a great job. He’s got a lot of energy and that’s a guy you can feed off of.”

Called up from Triple-A Columbus to make his second big league start on three days’ rest, right-hander Jeanmar Gomez (2-0) allowed two runs and five hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out two.

“The kid made the best of the 85 pitches that he had and it was five good innings,” Acta said.

Gomez took the roster spot of Wood, who was traded to the New York Yankees on Saturday, and stepped into the rotation after the Indians moved Josh Tomlin up by a day when Westbrook was scratched from Saturday’s start and traded to St. Louis.

Five Cleveland relievers combined to work the final four innings. Tony Sipp pitched 1 2-3 innings, Frank Hermann got one out in the seventh, Rafael Perez got two outs in the eighth and Joe Smith got the third. Chris Perez wrapped it up in the ninth for his 12th save and second in two games.

Perez, who got out of a bases-loaded jam in Saturday’s 2-1 win, was threatened again in this one but still extended his scoreless streak to 13 1-3 innings. Travis Snider hit a leadoff single and advanced to second on Dewayne Wise’s sacrifice, but Perez escaped when Escobar flied out and Bautista struck out swinging.

The Indians jumped on Toronto right-hander Jesse Litsch (1-5) in the first. Trevor Crowe drew a leadoff walk and scored when Cabrera hit a two-run homer that bounced off the top of the right-field wall, his second.

Donald said the Indians had some fun with Cabrera when he got back to the dugout.

“We thought it had a good chance off the bat,” Donald said. “I didn’t think it was going to come that close to not getting out. Guys were joking around and laughing and stuff. I said, ‘Is that what you call a wall-scraper or a wall-bouncer?’”

Hill opened the second with a homer off the left-field foul screen, his 15th.

Toronto tied it in the third when Vernon Wells hit a two-out double, Adam Lind walked and Hill followed with an RBI single. Lyle Overbay ended the rally by striking out looking.

Cleveland regained the lead in the fifth. Crowe doubled, Litsch slipped while trying to field Cabrera’s bunt single and Shin-Soo Choo walked before left-hander Brian Tallet came on in relief. Tallet walked Carlos Santana to force in a run, and another scored when Matt LaPorta grounded into a double play.

Donald hit a two-out solo drive to left in the sixth, his third.

Escobar and Bautista cut it to 5-4 with back-to-back drives in the seventh, the eighth time this season the Blue Jays have hit consecutive homers. Escobar chased Sipp with a shot to left, his third, and Bautista drilled Hermann’s first pitch down the left-field line for his 32nd home run.

“They made it a ballgame really quick with two swings there,” Acta said.

The Blue Jays lead the major leagues with 161 homers and have gone deep in 13 consecutive games, hitting 31 in that span.

Litsch has won just once in nine outings since coming off the disabled list June 9 after missing more than a year following elbow surgery. He allowed four runs and six hits in four-plus innings.

“I still don’t see the velocity I had before,” Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said. “His control is not as good as it was before.”

Notes

• Hafner (shoulder) missed his fourth straight start but took batting practice before the game. Jordan Brown made his major league debut as Cleveland’s DH.
• Toronto OF Fred Lewis and 3B Edwin Encarnacion were held out of the starting lineup. Snider played left, Wise was in right and Bautista moved to third.