It was the perfect time for Asdrubal Cabrera to break free from his early-season slump. The Indians had bases loaded with two outs in the fifth inning, giving the shortstop a prime chance to pull his team back into the ballgame with the Red Sox.
Cabrera sent a pitch from Boston’s Alfredo Aceves screaming into right field, where outfielder Shane Victorino tracked it down on a dead sprint for a tough catch. As Cabrera slowed into first base, he clutched the brim of his helmet with two hands and flung it hard into the ground. It was that kind of night for Cleveland in a 6-3 loss to Boston at Progressive Field on Wednesday night.
“I knew I hit it good. I felt I hit it really good,” Cabrera said, “but they’ve got a good outfield out there, too. Fast.”
Starter Justin Masterson saw his near flawless start to this season end and the Indians (5-8) dropped their second straight game in this three-game set with the Red Sox. The Tribe’s offense had one loud outburst — back-to-back home runs from Nick Swisher and Jason Giambi in the sixth — but it was hardly enough to avoid an eighth loss in 11 games.
Masterson played with fire throughout his five innings, but he did well in limiting the damage.
The Red Sox (10-4) loaded the bases with no outs in the first inning and could have easily come away with more than the three runs they plated. Mike Napoli delivered a two-run single and Daniel Nava brought in another run with a base hit, but then Masterson settled in and retired the next three Boston batters in order with some help from his defense.
For the second out in the frame, first baseman Mark Reynolds gloved Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s grounder and fired the ball to home plate, cutting down Napoli on the play.
“I had to continue to battle,” said Masterson, who is 3-1 with a 1.67 ERA this year. “The guys made some good plays in order to keep things close. Mark Reynolds throwing the ball home — great job keeping a run from scoring. In the end, unfortunately, they got too many too early.”
Masterson faced a bases-loaded, none-out jam again in the second inning, and he again wiggled out of it unscathed. Boston had 10 hits, including seven with runners in scoring position, through four innings against Masterson, but it had also stranded eight runners in that span. In the fourth, the Red Sox loaded the bases against the sinkerballer for a third time, but Masterson again sidestepped any damage.
Click here to read more of this story.
About Marion Online Sports
