Martinez hits grand slam in 11-6 Boston win
BOSTON (AP) - Victor Martinez hit a grand slam against his
former team and the Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 11-6
on Saturday night despite a shaky outing by Josh Beckett.
After missing his previously scheduled start with back spasms,
Beckett (17-6) allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings in
his final postseason tuneup. But he's 6-0 in his last eight
postseason starts and is in line to start Game 2 of the AL division
series Friday at the Los Angeles Angels.
Martinez's homer in a seven-run second was his 23rd of the
season and one of four by Boston, which can complete a four-game
series sweep in Sunday's regular-season finale. Dustin Pedroia,
Brian Anderson and Dusty Brown, with his first major league hit,
had the others.
The Indians jumped out to a 4-1 lead over Beckett after 1 1-2
innings but extended their club record for consecutive road losses
to 14.
Aaron Laffey (7-9) got battered in the second after striking out
the last three batters in the first and dropped to 0-6 in his last
six starts. He gave up eight runs and seven hits in two innings.
The Red Sox loaded the bases with no outs in the second on a
double by David Ortiz, a walk to Jed Lowrie and a single by Casey
Kotchman. One run scored on Anderson's single and another on a
balk.
Boston reloaded the bases on an intentional walk to Pedroia
before Jason Bay singled in a run. Martinez then hit his first
career grand slam into the Red Sox bullpen in right-center field
for an 8-4 lead.
Martinez has been a major offensive force since being acquired
at the July 31 trade deadline for pitcher Justin Masterson and two
minor-league pitchers. In 55 games with Boston, he's batting .338
with eight homers and 41 RBIs.
Kotchman led off the third against Jensen Lewis with a single
and Anderson followed with his fourth homer, making it 10-4.
Paul Byrd relieved Beckett after five innings then gave up a
two-run homer in the seventh to Shin-Soo Choo, his 20th.
Brown, who replaced Martinez in the sixth, hit a solo shot in
the eighth three nights after making his major-league pitching
debut in the ninth inning of a 12-0 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Cleveland scored twice in the first off Beckett on a single by
Michael Brantley, a double by Asdrubal Cabrera, an RBI groundout by
Choo and a run-scoring single by Travis Hafner.
Pedroia led off the bottom of the first with his 14th homer, but
the Indians added two runs in the second that came in on Brantley's
single and Hafner's forceout at second.
Notes: The Indians have lost 20 of their last 25 games. ...
Boston 3B Mike Lowell was a late scratch from the lineup with a
sore right thumb. ... Beckett finished the season with a
career-high 199 strikeouts. ... Martinez has hit safely in 29
straight starts, the most in the AL this season and the most by a
Boston player since Johnny Damon also hit in 29 straight in 2005.