AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND <div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: B Francisco hit for K Shoppach. SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 2 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 6 CLEVELAND 2 BOTTOM, 9TH DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: B Francisco (.282, 3 HR, 7 RBI)</div>
AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND <div class="pre">AL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - BOSTON 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 14 0 CLEVELAND 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 1 (FINAL) BATTERIES: BOS - JON LESTER, MIKE TIMLIN (7TH), JAVIER LOPEZ (8TH), MANNY DELCARMEN (8TH) AND JASON VARITEK CLE - JAKE WESTBROOK, JENSEN LEWIS (7TH), JASON STANFORD (8TH), TOM MASTNY (9TH) AND KELLY SHOPPACH HOME RUNS: BOS - NONE CLE - GRADY SIZEMORE (18) OFF JON LESTER IN THE 3RD, 1 ON</div>
AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND <div class="pre">AL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - BOSTON 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 14 0 CLEVELAND 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 1 (FINAL) BATTERIES: BOS - JON LESTER, MIKE TIMLIN (7TH), JAVIER LOPEZ (8TH), MANNY DELCARMEN (8TH) AND JASON VARITEK CLE - JAKE WESTBROOK, JENSEN LEWIS (7TH), JASON STANFORD (8TH), TOM MASTNY (9TH) AND KELLY SHOPPACH WP - JON LESTER (1-0) LP - JAKE WESTBROOK (1-6) SAVE - MANNY DELCARMEN (1) HOME RUNS: BOS - NONE CLE - GRADY SIZEMORE (18) OFF JON LESTER IN THE 3RD, 1 ON TIME: 3:16 ATT: 32,439 PROBABLES: BOS - DAISUKE MATSUZAKA (11-7, 3.99) CLE - C.C. SABATHIA (13-4, 3.81)</div>
AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND <div class="pre">BOSTON (6) VS CLEVELAND (2) - FINAL BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg C Crisp cf 5 3 4 0 0 0 1 .284 D Pedroia 2b 5 1 3 1 0 0 2 .325 K Youkilis 1b 4 1 2 1 1 1 1 .312 M Ramirez dh 4 1 2 2 1 2 3 .298 J Drew rf 5 0 1 1 0 1 5 .252 M Lowell 3b 5 0 1 0 0 1 5 .305 J Varitek c 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 .267 E Hinske lf 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 .211 J Lugo ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .225 Totals 37 6 14 5 5 5 20 BATTING: 2B - M Ramirez (22, J Westbrook); C Crisp (15, J Westbrook). RBI - M Ramirez 2 (60), J Drew (38), K Youkilis (48), D Pedroia (30). 2-out RBI - K Youkilis. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Lowell 2, J Lugo 1. GIDP - M Lowell, D Pedroia, J Drew. Team LOB - 9. BASERUNNING: CS - M Lowell (2, 2nd base by J Westbrook/K Shoppach). FIELDING: DP: 2 (M Lowell-D Pedroia-K Youkilis, J Lugo-D Pedroia-K Youkilis). CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg G Sizemore cf 4 1 1 2 0 1 3 .272 J Michaels lf 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 .277 C Blake 3b 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 .275 T Hafner dh 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 .260 R Garko 1b 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .321 J Peralta ss 3 0 1 0 1 0 1 .281 F Gutierrez rf 3 0 0 0 0 2 3 .302 a-T Nixon ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .245 K Shoppach c 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 .309 b-B Francisco ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .275 J Barfield 2b 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 .256 Totals 31 2 6 2 3 9 12 a-flied out to left for F Gutierrez in the 9th; b-grounded to third for K Shoppach in the 9th. BATTING: 2B - R Garko (17, J Lester). HR - G Sizemore (18, 3rd inning off J Lester 1 on, 1 Out). RBI - G Sizemore 2 (54). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - G Sizemore 2. GIDP - J Peralta, F Gutierrez. Team LOB - 6. FIELDING: E - C Blake (10, throw). PB - K Shoppach. DP: 3 (C Blake-J Barfield-R Garko, J Barfield-J Peralta-R Garko, R Garko-J Peralta-R Garko). ---------------------------------------------------- BOSTON - 410 000 001 -- 6 CLEVELAND - 002 000 000 -- 2 ---------------------------------------------------- BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era J Lester (W, 1-0) 6 5 2 2 3 6 1 3.00 M Timlin (H, 4) 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.31 J Lopez (H, 12) 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.29 M Delcarmen (S, 1) 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.56 CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era J Westbrook (L, 1-6) 6 10 5 5 4 1 0 6.20 J Lewis 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 1.69 J Stanford 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 4.12 T Mastny 1 0 0 0 1 3 0 4.43 J Stanford pitched to 2 batters in the 9th. HBP - R Garko (by J Lester). Pitches-strikes: J Lester 96-55; M Timlin 19-13; J Lopez 4-3; M Delcarmen 16-12; J Westbrook 112-65; J Lewis 24-15; J Stanford 17-10; T Mastny 18-12. Ground balls-fly balls: J Lester 7-5; M Timlin 0-3; J Lopez 0-0; M Delcarmen 2-1; J Westbrook 15-1; J Lewis 0-2; J Stanford 1-2; T Mastny 0-0. Batters faced: J Lester 25; M Timlin 5; J Lopez 1; M Delcarmen 4; J Westbrook 28; J Lewis 5; J Stanford 5; T Mastny 4. UMPIRES: HP--C.B. Bucknor. 1B--Joe West. 2B--Ed Rapuano. 3B--Ed Hickox. T--3:16. Att--32,439. Weather: 72 degrees, overcast. Wind: 11 mph, in from center.</div>
Lester sharp in return as Red Sox top Indians <h3>BOSTON 6, CLEVELAND 2</h3>CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Jon Lester's remarkable comeback iscomplete. Lester, who was diagnosed with cancer last August, pitched sixeffective innings in his return to the majors to lift the BostonRed Sox to a 6-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Monday. Coco Crisp had four hits and scored three runs in his first gameback at Jacobs Field since being traded prior to the 2006season as the Red Sox stretched their winning streak to fourgames. Lester was making his first appearance in the major leaguessince winning a start against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheimon August 23. He was then scratched from his next start with a sore back onAugust 29 and, three days later, Boston announced that he had atreatable form of lymphoma. After going through treatment over the offseason, Lester startedthe season on the disabled list. The 23-year-old lefthanderworked his way back through the minor leagues, going 4-5 with a3.61 ERA in 17 starts between Class A Greenville and Class AAAPawtucket. On Monday, Lester came full circle. Lester allowed two runs and five hits in his six innings, whilewalking three and striking out six. He threw 96 pitches, 65 ofthem for strikes. The lefthander allowed a base runner in each of the first twoinnings without any damage, but then gave up a two-run homer toGrady Sizemore in the third, cutting the Red Sox lead to 5-2. One inning later, the Indians threatened to ruin Lester's returnas they loaded the bases with one out. But Lester would workout of the jam by inducing Josh Barfield to ground into a forceout at home and striking out Sizemore to end the inning. Lester's night ended on his 96th pitch of the game as he inducedFranklin Gutierrez into an inning ending 6-4-3 double play. Mike Timlin, Javier Lopez and Manny Delcarmen combined to pitchthe final three innings with Delcarmen getting credit for thesave - the first of his career. The Red Sox's bats gave Lester all the support he needed with afour-run first inning. The first five batters reached base withtwo runs scoring on Manny Ramirez's double and another on J.D.Drew's single. Kevin Youkilis added an RBI single in the second off of Indiansstarter Jake Westbrook (1-6), to score Crisp, who doubled,giving the Red Sox a 5-0 cushion. Crisp would come around and score again in the ninth on DustinPedroia's RBI single. Crisp led off the ninth with an infieldhit and went to second on a throwing error by third basemanCasey Blake. It was a nice return to Cleveland for Crisp, who played for theIndians between 2002-2005 before being traded to Boston in theoffseason. Crisp missed last year's series at Jacobs Fieldwith a fractured finger. It was another rough outing for Westbrook, who gave up five runson 10 hits in six innings. Westbrook hasn't won since April27th and is 0-4 with a 5.25 ERA.
AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BOSTON (6) AT CLEVELAND (2) - HOW THEY SCORED ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BOSTON 1ST: C Crisp singled to left. D Pedroia singled to right, C Crisp to second. K Youkilis walked, C Crisp to third, D Pedroia to second. M Ramirez doubled to deep left, C Crisp and D Pedroia scored, K Youkilis to third. J Drew singled to center, K Youkilis scored, M Ramirez to third. M Lowell grounded into double play, third to second to first, M Ramirez scored, J Drew out at second. J Varitek walked. E Hinske grounded out to first. (4 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 4, CLEVELAND 0. BOSTON 2ND: J Lugo bunt grounded out to pitcher. C Crisp doubled to deep center. D Pedroia grounded out to third. K Youkilis singled to right, C Crisp scored. M Ramirez struck out looking. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, CLEVELAND 0. CLEVELAND 3RD: K Shoppach struck out swinging. J Barfield singled to center. G Sizemore homered to right, J Barfield scored. J Michaels popped out to second. C Blake walked. T Hafner struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, CLEVELAND 2. BOSTON 9TH: C Crisp reached on infield single to third, C Crisp to second on throwing error by third baseman C Blake. C Crisp to third on passed ball by K Shoppach. D Pedroia singled to right center, C Crisp scored. T Mastny relieved J Stanford. K Youkilis struck out looking. M Ramirez walked, D Pedroia to second. J Drew struck out looking. M Lowell struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error) BOSTON 6, CLEVELAND 2.</div>
AL: BOSTON at CLEVELAND <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BOSTON (6) AT CLEVELAND (2) - EVENT LOG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boston Starting Lineups -- C Crisp CF, D Pedroia 2B, K Youkilis 1B, M Ramirez DH, J Drew RF, M Lowell 3B, J Varitek C, E Hinske LF, J Lugo SS, J Lester LHP. Cleveland Starting Lineups -- G Sizemore CF, J Michaels LF, C Blake 3B, T Hafner DH, R Garko 1B, J Peralta SS, F Gutierrez RF, K Shoppach C, J Barfield 2B, J Westbrook RHP. Umpires -- C.B. Bucknor (HP), Joe West (1B), Ed Rapuano (2B), Ed Hickox (3B). Gametime Weather: 72 degrees, Overcast, wind in from center at 11 mph. BOSTON 1ST: C Crisp singled to left. D Pedroia singled to right, C Crisp to second. K Youkilis walked, C Crisp to third, D Pedroia to second. M Ramirez doubled to deep left, C Crisp and D Pedroia scored, K Youkilis to third. J Drew singled to center, K Youkilis scored, M Ramirez to third. M Lowell grounded into double play, third to second to first, M Ramirez scored, J Drew out at second. J Varitek walked. E Hinske grounded out to first. (4 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 4, CLEVELAND 0. CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore grounded out to first. J Michaels struck out swinging. C Blake singled to left. T Hafner flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 4, CLEVELAND 0. BOSTON 2ND: J Lugo bunt grounded out to pitcher. C Crisp doubled to deep center. D Pedroia grounded out to third. K Youkilis singled to right, C Crisp scored. M Ramirez struck out looking. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, CLEVELAND 0. CLEVELAND 2ND: R Garko hit by pitch. J Peralta grounded into double play, third to second to first, R Garko out at second. F Gutierrez struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, CLEVELAND 0. BOSTON 3RD: J Drew grounded out to first. M Lowell singled to right center. M Lowell caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop. J Varitek walked. E Hinske walked, J Varitek to second. J Lugo grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, E Hinske out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, CLEVELAND 0. CLEVELAND 3RD: K Shoppach struck out swinging. J Barfield singled to center. G Sizemore homered to right, J Barfield scored. J Michaels popped out to second. C Blake walked. T Hafner struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, CLEVELAND 2. BOSTON 4TH: C Crisp singled to deep right center. D Pedroia grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, C Crisp out at second. K Youkilis grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, CLEVELAND 2. CLEVELAND 4TH: R Garko doubled to deep left. J Peralta walked. F Gutierrez struck out swinging. K Shoppach walked, R Garko to third, J Peralta to second. J Barfield grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, R Garko out at home, J Peralta to third, K Shoppach to second. G Sizemore struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, CLEVELAND 2. BOSTON 5TH: M Ramirez singled to deep left. J Drew grounded into double play, first to shortstop to first, M Ramirez out at second. M Lowell grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, CLEVELAND 2. CLEVELAND 5TH: J Michaels fouled out to first. C Blake flied out to center. T Hafner popped out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, CLEVELAND 2. BOSTON 6TH: J Varitek grounded out to pitcher. E Hinske flied out to center. J Lugo singled to right. C Crisp grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, J Lugo out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, CLEVELAND 2. CLEVELAND 6TH: R Garko grounded out to third. J Peralta singled to center. F Gutierrez grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, J Peralta out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, CLEVELAND 2. BOSTON 7TH: J Lewis relieved J Westbrook. D Pedroia singled to left. K Youkilis singled to right, D Pedroia to second. M Ramirez struck out looking. J Drew fouled out to shortstop. M Lowell flied out to center. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, CLEVELAND 2. CLEVELAND 7TH: M Timlin relieved J Lester. K Shoppach flied out to center. J Barfield fouled out to first. G Sizemore popped out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, CLEVELAND 2. BOSTON 8TH: J Stanford relieved J Lewis. J Varitek grounded out to shortstop. E Hinske lined out to center. J Lugo fouled out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, CLEVELAND 2. CLEVELAND 8TH: J Michaels struck out swinging. C Blake singled to center. J Lopez relieved M Timlin. T Hafner struck out swinging. M Delcarmen relieved J Lopez. R Garko struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, CLEVELAND 2. BOSTON 9TH: C Crisp reached on infield single to third, C Crisp to second on throwing error by third baseman C Blake. C Crisp to third on passed ball by K Shoppach. D Pedroia singled to right center, C Crisp scored. T Mastny relieved J Stanford. K Youkilis struck out looking. M Ramirez walked, D Pedroia to second. J Drew struck out looking. M Lowell struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error) BOSTON 6, CLEVELAND 2. CLEVELAND 9TH: J Peralta grounded out to first. T Nixon hit for F Gutierrez. T Nixon flied out to left. B Francisco hit for K Shoppach. B Francisco grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 6, CLEVELAND 2.</div>
Lester sharp in return as Red Sox top Indians <h3>BOSTON 6, CLEVELAND 2</h3>CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Jon Lester's remarkable comeback iscomplete. Lester, who was diagnosed with cancer last August, pitched sixeffective innings in his return to the majors to lift the BostonRed Sox to a 6-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Monday. Coco Crisp had four hits and scored three runs in his first gameback at Jacobs Field since being traded prior to the 2006season as the Red Sox stretched their winning streak to fourgames. "It felt real good to be out there," Lester said. "A lot ofemotions and a lot of excitement." Lester was making his first appearance in the major leaguessince winning a start against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheimon August 23. He was then scratched from his next start with asore back on August 29 and, three days later, Boston announcedthat he had a treatable form of lymphoma. After going through treatment over the offseason, Lester startedthe season on the disabled list. The 23-year-old lefthanderworked his way back through the minor leagues, going 4-5 with a3.61 ERA in 17 starts between Class A Greenville and Class AAAPawtucket. On Monday, Lester came full circle. Lester (1-0) allowed tworuns and five hits in his six innings, while walking three andstriking out six. He threw 96 pitches, 65 of them for strikes. "Once I threw the first pitch, I settled down," Lester said. "I'm very proud of him," said Indians catcher Kelly Shoppach,who was in the Red Sox organization with Lester. "It wasexciting to see him out there. It's been a long road for himand I thought he threw the ball well." The lefthander allowed a base runner in each of the first twoinnings without any damage, but then gave up a two-run homer toGrady Sizemore in the third, cutting the Red Sox lead to 5-2. One inning later, the Indians threatened to ruin Lester's returnas they loaded the bases with one out. But Lester would workout of the jam by inducing Josh Barfield to ground into a forceout at home and striking out Sizemore to end the inning. "(Sizemore) was not the guy I wanted up there," Lester said. "Idid a good job of battling and was able to get him out thistime." "We helped him out by chasing some high fastballs," Indiansmanager Eric Wedge said. "But Lester showed some poise outthere. He was under control the whole game." Lester's night ended on his 96th pitch of the game as he inducedFranklin Gutierrez into an inning ending 6-4-3 double play. "Impressed, proud, there are a lot of adjectives," Red Soxmanager Terry Francona said. "It was supposed to be his nightand it was fitting for him to win the game." Making the evening extra special for Lester was the fact hisparents were able to watch the game at Jacobs Field, five rowsbehind the Red Sox dugout. "It meant a lot (to have them here)," Lester said. "They havebeen through a lot. It was nice to have them here to share inthe moment." Mike Timlin, Javier Lopez and Manny Delcarmen combined to pitchthe final three innings with Delcarmen getting credit for thesave - the first of his career. "It was awesome to see (Lester) back to his normal self,"Delcarmen said. "It shows he is ready to go." The Red Sox's bats gave Lester all the support he needed with afour-run first inning. The first five batters reached base withtwo runs scoring on Manny Ramirez's double and another on J.D.Drew's single. Kevin Youkilis added an RBI single in the second off of Indiansstarter Jake Westbrook (1-6), to score Crisp, who doubled,giving the Red Sox a 5-0 cushion. Crisp would come around andscore again in the ninth on Dustin Pedroia's RBI single. Crispled off the ninth with an infield hit and went to second on athrowing error by third baseman Casey Blake. "Crisp looks good," Francona said. "He is taking some prettyhealthy swings up there and hitting the ball all over theballpark." It was a nice return to Cleveland for Crisp, who played for theIndians between 2002-2005 before being traded to Boston in theoffseason. Crisp missed last year's series at Jacobs Field witha fractured finger. It was another rough outing for Westbrook,who gave up five runs on 10 hits in six innings. Westbrookhasn't won since April 27th and is 0-4 with a 5.25 ERA. "I gave up a lot of runs and a lot of hits," Westbrook said. "Ineed to do a better job. The past couple of games I have givenup some big innings. Right now I am not doing my job. It's up tome to figure it out and do better."
