Cleveland, OH - Fausto Carmona scattered four hits over eight shutout innings, as Cleveland turned the tables on Boston to win 1-0 in the third game of four between the clubs at Jacobs Field.
Carmona (13-4) fanned six and walked two, moving to 5-0 in July, and joined fellow Tribe starter C.C. Sabathia in the 13-win club. Franklin Gutierrez homered for the Indians, who snapped a two-game slide and reversed Boston’s 1-0 win on Tuesday.
Josh Beckett (13-4) pitched an equally solid game despite the loss, allowing one run and four hits in over eight innings with seven strikeouts, retiring 14 in a row and 16 of the final 17 batters he faced. It was his fourth career complete game, but first since 2005.
Coco Crisp, Jason Varitek and Alex Cora collected a hit each for the Red Sox, who saw their five-game win streak halted. David Ortiz, who missed the last five games with a left shoulder strain, returned to the lineup as the designated hitter and finished 1-for-4 with a single.
In the third, Gutierrez put the Tribe up with a long blast beyond the seats in left.
Boston did not put up much of a fight until the sixth, when a lead-off single by Crisp ended Carmona’s no-hitter. Crisp moved to second on a Dustin Pedroia groundout, but was cut down at the plate attempting to score on an infield single to second by Ortiz, which kept the shutout intact.
Varitek’s single started the Red Sox eighth, and after Eric Hinske flew out, the Sox captain was nailed in a rundown at first after leaving early on a steal attempt. Cora then reached on an infield single, but was erased on a straight steal at second to end the inning.
Joe Borowski closed out the game by setting down the side in order to record his 29th save.
Game Notes
Carmona was 0-2 against the Sox in 2006, in which he entered in a save situation and was saddled with a blown save and a loss both times…Beckett had been 6-0 with a 1.71 ERA on the road this season…Boston pitcher Joel Piniero accepted an assignment to Triple-A Pawtucket, two days after being designated for assignment when the club promoted Jon Lester…Ortiz has hit safely in each of his last 10 games…Cleveland’s Ryan Garko had his 17-game hit streak snapped with an 0-for-3 night at the plate…Cleveland had not played back-to-back 1-0 games since 1991…Attendance was 29,614.
