Cleveland Indians Dispatch of Red Sox; Salazar Sharp Again

Salazar continues solid campaign with another solid outing

It’s becoming a more regular sight to see the Cleveland Indians starters go seven innings or more, especially the one who didn’t make the Opening Day roster. The Tribe would probably be in the thick of the race if the offense could find a level of consistency to support them. After back-to-back poor offensive showings, the Indians rallied behind a strong start from Danny Salazar (11-6, 3.16) as he pitched seven strong innings in the 8-2 win. 

The Indians (55-62) got a solid night from Lonnie Chisenhall, who hit a solo home run to go along with a two-run double as he drove in three to pace the Indians. Carlos Santana added a solo home run as well. The Tribe had Michael Brantley back in the lineup, and Jason Kipnis may not be far behind. Getting this lineup back to full strength as the season winds down will go a long ways to assessing plans for next season.

The Red Sox (52-66) came in swinging extremely hot bats, scoring 45 runs on 60 hits in the previous three-game set against the Mariners. Travis Shaw had both RBIs for the Sox with a solo home run and a RBI single. The Indians broke it open against Sox starter Matt Barnes (3-3, 6.59) with a five-run fifth inning, then never relinquished the lead.

One of the few low points of the night came in the ninth as closer Cody Allen struggled again, although this time not in a save situation. Allen walked one and allowed two hits and a run on Shaw’s single. While not costly to this contest, Allen continues to be a concern at the back end of the Indians bullpen moving forward.

The two team will face off again tomorrow at 7:10 p.m. ET as Trevor Bauer (9-9, 4.35) tries to get back on track against Eduardo Rodriguez (6-5, 4.83). Bauer allowed six runs in just 3 1/3 inning in an 8-6 loss to the Yankees last Thursday.