Brantley singles in winner in 11th
Indians 5, Red Sox 4, 11 innings
CLEVELAND — Mike Clevinger became the fourth Indians pitcher to reach 200 strikeouts this season on Saturday night, even though he didn’t know exactly where the ball was going.
But he threw enough of those pitches over the plate to join teammates Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer and Corey Kluber as the only rotation in major-league history to have four pitchers with 200 strikeouts in the same season.
Clevinger was long gone when Michael Brantley hit a basesloaded single to give the Indians a 5-4 victory over Boston in the 11th inning.
The Indians loaded the bases against Drew Pomeranz (2-6), their former No. 1 pick. Yan Gomes and Greg Allen reached on singles. After pinch-runner Rajai Davis and Allen pulled off a double steal, Francisco Lindor was intentionally walked. Brantley followed with his single into the leftfield corner.
Clevinger recorded his 200th strikeout in the second when Jackie Bradley Jr. took a called third strike for the second out. But it was a wild ride for Clevinger. In the first three innings he had five walks, five strikeouts, a hit batsman, a wild pitch, threw 75 pitches and allowed one hit — a home run by Rafael Devers.
Clevinger allowed two runs on three hits in five innings. He struck out six and left with a 4-2 lead.
The Indians carried the lead into the eighth when Boston tied it on Andrew Benintendi’s two-run single off Brad Hand.
The Tribe took a 2-0 lead in the second against Rick Porcello on RBI hits by Gomes and Lindor. After Devers homered in the third to make it 2-1, Josh Donaldson stretched the Tribe’s lead to 3-1 with an RBI single in the bottom of the third.
Lindor made it 4-1 in the fourth with a single to right that scored Gomes, who reached on an error by shortstop Xander Bogearts. Lindor’s RBI in the second and third innings gave him 89 for the season, the same number he finished with last season.
Porcello allowed four runs, three earned, in five innings. He struck out one and walked two.
The Indians end their home season on Sunday night against the Red Sox. Adam Plutko (4-5) will start for the Indians. The Red Sox said they were going to wait until after Saturday’s game to announce their starter.