Indians 3, Red Sox 2
Justin Masterson struck out a season-high 10 over seven scoreless innings and Lonnie Chisenhall drove in two as host Cleveland ended Boston’s seven-game winning streak.
Masterson (3-4), who went 2-3 with a 5.63 ERA in May, yielded three singles and four walks while snapping a three-game losing streak to his former team. Michael Bourn had two hits and scored twice while Asdrubal Cabrera drove in the other run for the Indians as they posted their fourth straight victory.
Xander Bogaerts belted a two-run home run in the eighth inning to end the Indians’ bid for their fifth shutout. John Lackey (6-4) took the loss despite notching his first complete game of the season and the 17th of his career, giving up all three runs on eight hits and two walks.
After Masterson fanned Jonny Gomes to leave the bases loaded in the opening frame, Cleveland struck for two runs in the bottom half when Bourn and Michael Brantley each walked ahead of Chisenhall, who dumped a bloop single into shallow left to plate both runners. Bourn opened the third with a triple and came home on Cabrera’s grounder past diving second baseman Dustin Pedroia.
Masterson settled in after getting an inning-ending double play in the third, allowing only one hit over the remainder of his outing – a single to David Ortiz in the sixth – before departing in favor of Bryan Shaw, who promptly gave up a single to Brock Holt and Bogaerts’ fourth homer of the season. Marc Rzepczynski got the final out of the eighth and Cody Allen tossed a perfect ninth for his fourth save.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Masterson, whose last start was halted after three innings due to a long rain delay, was 0-2 with a 9.98 ERA over his previous three full outings. … The setback left Boston tied with the 1942 Pittsburgh Pirates and 1989 Detroit Tigers for the longest winning streak following a double-digit losing streak in major-league history. The Red Sox dropped 10 straight from May 15-25. … The Red Sox suffered their 13th one-run loss – the most in the American League.