Top clinch no cinch
Sox fail to wrap up best record; Bogaerts injured
CLEVELAND — The 2018 Red Sox apparently have no interest in becoming the Best Team Ever (regular-season version) anywhere besides Fenway Park.
In a 4-3 loss in 11 innings to the Indians that was further tarnished by a left shoulder injury to shortstop Xander Bogaerts (he’s day to day), the Red Sox wasted their second consecutive shot at finishing with the best record in baseball this season and thus ensuring home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The loss also left them with a 10551 record, still tied with the 1912 Red Sox team for the most wins in franchise history.
The silver lining to the Red Sox losing the last two games of this series against a team they could face again in the ALCS is that they have six more tries at home, three against the woeful Orioles and the last three against the dreaded Yankees.
The game was tied at 4 in the 11th when Greg Allen hit a bases-loaded single off Robby Scott.
William Cuevas threw 93 pitches in his 51⁄3 innings of relief. He walked Jose Ramirez to put the eventual winning run on base.
Bogaerts hurt himself swinging during his seventh-inning at-bat and was replaced by Tzu-Wei Lin.
Mookie Betts had himself a night, going 4-for-6 with a homer and a pair of doubles.
Betts got the offense rolling right from the start, leading off the game with a double off Mark Plutko. After advancing to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Andrew Benintendi, Betts scored on a wild pitch and the Red Sox had the quick 1-0 lead.
Betts also contributed to the second run. Christian Vazquez led off the third with a single, and Betts’ single pushed him to second. After a walk advanced Vazquez to third, he scored on Rafael Devers’ groundout.
Red Sox starter Hector Velazquez pitched a solid 31⁄3 innings.
He pitched out of a jam in the second, which began with an Edwin Encarnacion triple, the three-bagger aided by center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. slipping on a piece of loose turf. Josh Donaldson hit a high chopper to Bogaerts, who threw out Encaranacion at home plate.
In the fourth inning, Velazquez got into trouble he could not pitch out of.
Ramirez led off with a single and advanced to second on a throwing error from Velazquez. After a wild pitch, Ramirez scored on Encarnacion’s single to narrow the Red Sox’ lead to 2-1.
Out went Velazquez, and in came Steven Wright in an experiment the Sox have been curious to conduct: See how Wright pitches with baserunners versus coming in to start an inning.
The early results were not good. After striking out Donaldson, Wright allowed a single and then a two-run double by Melky Cabrera as the Indians took a 3-2 lead.
Betts tied the game right back, leading off the fifth by scorching a missile over the right-center field fence, his 31st home run of the season.