Cleveland came into today’s game against Boston with the majors’ best run differential at plus-65, but that number took a beating at Progressive Field as the Red Sox scored 14 runs in the first six innings and coasted to a 14-2 victory.
Mitch Talbot took the brunt of the damage in his first start since April, giving up seven runs in the first inning and eight runs in three innings overall as his ERA rose from 1.46 to 5.87 in 76 pitches.
Boston wasn’t done when Talbot exited after three innings either, knocking around reliever Frank Herrmann for six more runs.
Carl Crawford went 4-for-4 to raise his batting average from .212 to .229, call-up Drew Sutton had three hits starting in place of the injured Kevin Youkilis at third base, and everyone in the Red Sox’s starting lineup had at least two hits except Jed Lowrie, who somehow managed to go 0-for-5 while his teammates went 20-for-40.
Since starting the season 2-10 (including 0-6) the Red Sox have now gone 25-12. They’re four games behind the Indians for the best record in the league.
