Franmil Reyes hit a third-inning solo blast for his second home run in as many days and had three RBIs to help the Cleveland Indians overpower the host Boston Red Sox in an 11-5 win on Sunday.
Reyes finished a perfect 4-for-4, including his 26th homer of the season for Cleveland (68-66). The Indians have homered in 19 consecutive games to equal the franchise record set from May 7-28, 2000.
Bradley Zimmer had a two-run single to give Cleveland a six-run cushion after three innings before Boston battled back to pull within 6-5 after six. Reyes later smacked a two-run double to highlight the Indians’ five-run ninth.
Harold Ramirez (2-for-4) also drove in a pair of runs for Cleveland. The Indians have won five of their last seven games despite dropping the series opener 8-5 on Friday and losing 4-3 on Saturday.
J.D. Martinez (3-for-5) hit a two-run homer in the sixth and had three RBIs for Boston (79-60). Travis Shaw knocked an RBI double and Kevin Plawecki drove in a run for the Red Sox, who had their four-game winning streak snapped.
Boston maintained its four-game lead over Oakland for the second American League wild-card spot.
Indians starter Zach Plesac (10-4) earned the win after giving up three runs on eight hits with three walks and five strikeouts in five innings.
Boston right-hander Kutter Crawford (0-1) allowed five runs on five hits over two innings in his major league debut. He got the nod after scheduled starter Nick Pivetta was placed on the COVID-19 related injured list before the game.
Red Sox utility man Danny Santana also landed on the COVID list earlier Sunday. Boston has had 10 players and two coaches test positive for the virus dating back to last weekend’s series in Cleveland.
–Field Level Media