GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: BOSTON (61-40) at CLEVELAND (59-42)

AL: BOSTON (61-40) at CLEVELAND (59-42)

<h3>Pitching-rich series pits Gabbard against Lee in finale</h3>

<div class="pre">Boston (61-40) at Cleveland (59-42) 7:05 pm EDT</div>

CLEVELAND (Ticker) - The Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indianshave traded 1-0 wins the past two nights. Kason Gabbard andCliff Lee will try to keep the bats down again when the Red Soxvisit the Indians for the finale of a four-game set on Thursday.

Cleveland snapped Boston's five-game winning streak on Wednesdaywhen Fausto Carmona outdueled Josh Beckett, with each starteryielding four hits in eight innings. One of the Indians' hits,however, was a solo homer by Franklin Guetierrez in the thirdinning that proved to be the deciding blow.


The Red Sox will hand the ball to rookie sensation Kason Gabbard(4-0, 2.97 ERA) on Thursday. The 25-year-old lefthander hassurrendered just one run over his last two starts and isundefeated in six outings this season with a pair of nodecisions.


On July 16, Gabbard became the first Boston rookie since RogerClemens in 1984 to throw a nine-inning shutout at Fenway Parkwhen he held the Kansas City Royals to just three hits. Hefollowed that up with seven innings of three-hit ball lastSaturday against the White Sox.


The Indians will put their faith in (5-7, 5.95). The veteranlefthander has been getting hammered recently, yielding 20 runsover his last three starts, all losses.


Lee began the season on the disabled list with a strainedabdominal muscle on his right side and did not make his firststart until May 3. Since returning to the rotation he hasstruggled to find any sort of consistency, reeling off twostraight wins, followed by a four-start losing streak, followedby three wins, and then the current slide.


The Red Sox saw their lead in the American League East trimmedto 6 1/2 games when the New York Yankees won their sixthstraight game Wednesday. It is the closest the Yankees havebeen to Boston since they were within six games on May 9.

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">BOSTON AT CLEVELAND -- LINEUPS

BOSTON CLEVELAND
AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI
Julio Lugo SS .226 6 47 Grady Sizemore CF .275 18 54
Dustin Pedroia 2B .318 4 30 Casey Blake 3B .270 14 50
David Ortiz DH .320 16 60 Victor Martinez C .318 17 77
Manny Ramirez LF .298 15 60 Travis Hafner DH .255 16 64
Kevin Youkilis 1B .312 9 48 Ryan Garko 1B .318 12 39
Mike Lowell 3B .304 15 71 Jhonny Peralta SS .279 14 50
Jason Varitek C .265 9 41 Jason Michaels LF .277 6 29
Coco Crisp CF .281 5 38 Franklin Gutierrez RF .303 6 15
Wily Mo Pena RF .197 4 12 Josh Barfield 2B .252 2 44

Kason Gabbard LHP (4-0, 2.97) Cliff Lee LHP (5-7, 5.95)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND
NOTE: THE START OF THE GAME IS BEING DELAYED DUE TO RAIN.</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND
WARMUPS: BOS - KASON GABBARD (4-0, 2.97)
CLE - CLIFF LEE (5-7, 5.95)

UMPIRES: HP - ED HICKOX
1B - C.B. BUCKNOR
2B - JOE WEST
3B - ED RAPUANO

WEATHER: 69 Degrees, cloudy
WIND: 8 mph, out to center</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND
NOTE: THE GAME IS UNDERWAY AFTER A 34 MINUTE DELAY.</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND
STARTING BATS: BOS - KASON GABBARD AND JASON VARITEK
CLE - CLIFF LEE AND VICTOR MARTINEZ

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: J LUGO (.226, 6 HR, 47 RBI)
D PEDROIA (.318, 4 HR, 30 RBI)
D ORTIZ (.320, 16 HR, 60 RBI)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BOSTON 0 0 0 0
CLEVELAND 0 0 0 (BOT 1)

CURRENT PITCHERS: BOS - KASON GABBARD
CLE - CLIFF LEE

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: G SIZEMORE (.275, 18 HR, 54 RBI)
C BLAKE (.270, 14 HR, 50 RBI)
V MARTINEZ (.318, 17 HR, 77 RBI)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">BOSTON (0) VS CLEVELAND (0) - MID 1ST - IN PROGRESS

BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Lugo ss 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .225
D Pedroia 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .316
D Ortiz dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .319
M Ramirez lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .298
K Youkilis 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .312
M Lowell 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .304
J Varitek c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .265
C Crisp cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
W Pena rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .197

Totals 3 0 0 0 0 1 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .275
C Blake 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .270
V Martinez c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .318
T Hafner dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .255
R Garko 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .318
J Peralta ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .279
J Michaels lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .277
F Gutierrez rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .303
J Barfield 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .252

Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


----------------------------------------------------
BOSTON - 0 -- 0
CLEVELAND - -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
K Gabbard 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.97

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
C Lee 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.89

Pitches-strikes: C Lee 13-9. Ground balls-fly balls: C Lee 1-1. Batters
faced: C Lee 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Ed Hickox. 1B--C.B. Bucknor. 2B--Joe West. 3B--Ed Rapuano.

(Plus rain delay totaling 34 minutes in the 1st). Weather: 69 degrees,
cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, out to center.</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND
CONFIRMED STARTERS: BOS - KASON GABBARD
CLE - CLIFF LEE</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BOSTON 0 0 0 0
CLEVELAND 0 0 0 0 (TOP 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: BOS - KASON GABBARD
CLE - CLIFF LEE

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: M RAMIREZ (.298, 15 HR, 60 RBI)
K YOUKILIS (.312, 9 HR, 48 RBI)
M LOWELL (.304, 15 HR, 71 RBI)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">BOSTON (0) VS CLEVELAND (0) - END 1ST - IN PROGRESS

BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Lugo ss 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .225
D Pedroia 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .316
D Ortiz dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .319
M Ramirez lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .298
K Youkilis 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .312
M Lowell 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .304
J Varitek c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .265
C Crisp cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
W Pena rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .197

Totals 3 0 0 0 0 1 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .274
C Blake 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269
V Martinez c 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .317
T Hafner dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .255
R Garko 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .318
J Peralta ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .279
J Michaels lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .277
F Gutierrez rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .303
J Barfield 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .252

Totals 3 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


----------------------------------------------------
BOSTON - 0 -- 0
CLEVELAND - 0 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
K Gabbard 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.89

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
C Lee 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.89

Pitches-strikes: K Gabbard 12-8; C Lee 13-9. Ground balls-fly balls: K
Gabbard 2-1; C Lee 1-1. Batters faced: K Gabbard 3; C Lee 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Ed Hickox. 1B--C.B. Bucknor. 2B--Joe West. 3B--Ed Rapuano.

(Plus rain delay totaling 34 minutes in the 1st). Weather: 69 degrees,
cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, out to center.</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY MANNY RAMIREZ (16) TO CENTER WITH 0 OUT IN
THE 2ND OFF CLIFF LEE.
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 1, CLEVELAND 0

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: K YOUKILIS (.312, 9 HR, 48 RBI)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BOSTON 0 1 1 2 0
CLEVELAND 0 0 0 0 (BOT 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: BOS - KASON GABBARD
CLE - CLIFF LEE

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: T HAFNER (.255, 16 HR, 64 RBI)
R GARKO (.318, 12 HR, 39 RBI)
J PERALTA (.279, 14 HR, 50 RBI)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">BOSTON (1) VS CLEVELAND (0) - MID 2ND - IN PROGRESS

BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Lugo ss 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .225
D Pedroia 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .316
D Ortiz dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .319
M Ramirez lf 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .300
K Youkilis 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .311
M Lowell 3b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .306
J Varitek c 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .264
C Crisp cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .280
W Pena rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .197

Totals 8 1 2 1 0 1 2

BATTING: HR - M Ramirez (16, 2nd inning off C Lee 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - M Ramirez
(61). Team LOB - 1.


CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .274
C Blake 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269
V Martinez c 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .317
T Hafner dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .255
R Garko 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .318
J Peralta ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .279
J Michaels lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .277
F Gutierrez rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .303
J Barfield 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .252

Totals 3 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


----------------------------------------------------
BOSTON - 01 -- 1
CLEVELAND - 0 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
K Gabbard 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.89

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
C Lee 2 2 1 1 0 1 1 5.92

Pitches-strikes: K Gabbard 12-8; C Lee 27-19. Ground balls-fly balls: K
Gabbard 2-1; C Lee 3-2. Batters faced: K Gabbard 3; C Lee 8.

UMPIRES: HP--Ed Hickox. 1B--C.B. Bucknor. 2B--Joe West. 3B--Ed Rapuano.

(Plus rain delay totaling 34 minutes in the 1st). Weather: 69 degrees,
cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, out to center.</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BOSTON 0 1 1 2 0
CLEVELAND 0 0 0 0 0 (TOP 3)

CURRENT PITCHERS: BOS - KASON GABBARD
CLE - CLIFF LEE

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: W PENA (.197, 4 HR, 12 RBI)
J LUGO (.225, 0-FOR-1)
D PEDROIA (.316, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">BOSTON (1) VS CLEVELAND (0) - END 2ND - IN PROGRESS

BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Lugo ss 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .225
D Pedroia 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .316
D Ortiz dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .319
M Ramirez lf 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .300
K Youkilis 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .311
M Lowell 3b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .306
J Varitek c 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .264
C Crisp cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .280
W Pena rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .197

Totals 8 1 2 1 0 1 2

BATTING: HR - M Ramirez (16, 2nd inning off C Lee 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - M Ramirez
(61). Team LOB - 1.


CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .274
C Blake 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269
V Martinez c 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .317
T Hafner dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .254
R Garko 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .317
J Peralta ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .278
J Michaels lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .277
F Gutierrez rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .303
J Barfield 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .252

Totals 6 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


----------------------------------------------------
BOSTON - 01 -- 1
CLEVELAND - 00 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
K Gabbard 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.82

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
C Lee 2 2 1 1 0 1 1 5.92

Pitches-strikes: K Gabbard 19-12; C Lee 27-19. Ground balls-fly balls: K
Gabbard 3-3; C Lee 3-2. Batters faced: K Gabbard 6; C Lee 8.

UMPIRES: HP--Ed Hickox. 1B--C.B. Bucknor. 2B--Joe West. 3B--Ed Rapuano.

(Plus rain delay totaling 34 minutes in the 1st). Weather: 69 degrees,
cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, out to center.</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND - SCORING UPDATE
DUSTIN PEDROIA HIT INTO DOUBLE PLAY SCORING WILY MO PENA.

SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, NONE ON, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 2
CLEVELAND 0 TOP, 3RD

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: D ORTIZ (.319, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL BOSTON AT CLEVELAND
NOTE: BOSTON SHORTSTOP JULIO LUGO EXTENDED HIS HITTING
STREAK TO 15 GAMES WITH A SINGLE IN THE THIRD INNING.</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BOSTON 0 1 1 2 4 0
CLEVELAND 0 0 0 0 0 (BOT 3)

CURRENT PITCHERS: BOS - KASON GABBARD
CLE - CLIFF LEE

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: J MICHAELS (.277, 6 HR, 29 RBI)
F GUTIERREZ (.303, 6 HR, 15 RBI)
J BARFIELD (.252, 2 HR, 44 RBI)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">BOSTON (2) VS CLEVELAND (0) - MID 3RD - IN PROGRESS

BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Lugo ss 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 .227
D Pedroia 2b 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .315
D Ortiz dh 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .318
M Ramirez lf 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .300
K Youkilis 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .311
M Lowell 3b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .306
J Varitek c 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .264
C Crisp cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .280
W Pena rf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .203

Totals 12 2 4 1 0 1 3

BATTING: HR - M Ramirez (16, 2nd inning off C Lee 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - M Ramirez
(61). GIDP - D Pedroia. Team LOB - 1.


CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .274
C Blake 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269
V Martinez c 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .317
T Hafner dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .254
R Garko 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .317
J Peralta ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .278
J Michaels lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .277
F Gutierrez rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .303
J Barfield 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .252

Totals 6 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (J Peralta-R Garko).


----------------------------------------------------
BOSTON - 011 -- 2
CLEVELAND - 00 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
K Gabbard 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.82

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
C Lee 3 4 2 2 0 1 1 5.96

Pitches-strikes: K Gabbard 19-12; C Lee 40-27. Ground balls-fly balls: K
Gabbard 3-3; C Lee 5-3. Batters faced: K Gabbard 6; C Lee 12.

UMPIRES: HP--Ed Hickox. 1B--C.B. Bucknor. 2B--Joe West. 3B--Ed Rapuano.

(Plus rain delay totaling 34 minutes in the 1st). Weather: 69 degrees,
cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, out to center.</div>