David Price Pitches 8 Shutout Innings, Red Sox Beat Indians 7-0 To Earn Series Split
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Red Sox are at 90 wins and counting for the season.
The Boston offense put together another big inning and David Price was firing on all cylinders, tossing eight shutout innings as the Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 7-0 Thursday afternoon. The win earns them a series split after dropping the first two of the four-game set.
The Red Sox broke up a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth thanks to four doubles from their potent offense. Blake Swihart, who took over for the injured Mitch Moreland in the bottom of the first, got the fun started by roping a two-run double to right field off Indians starter Adam Plutko, giving Boston a 2-0 lead. After Cleveland intentionally walked J.D. Martinez, ending Plutko's afternoon, Xander Bogaerts chopped a double up and over the glove of third baseman Jose Ramirez, scoring Andrew Benintendi and Swihart to make it 4-0 Red Sox.
Two batters later, after an intentional walk to Brock Holt, Eduardo Nunez sent the first pitch he saw sharply to right field, scoring two more runs for the Red Sox. Boston sent 11 players to bat in the inning, plating six runs.
Swihart went 2-for-4 as Moreland's replacement, and will likely split time with Steve Pearce at first if Morland requires a trip to the disabled list. Bogaerts went 6-for-18 in the series and is now up to 82 RBIs on the season, closing in on the career-high 89 RBIs he drove in back in 2016.
All of that offense was more than enough for Price, who needed just 101 pitches to earn his 14th win of the season. Price allowed three hits and issued no walks while keeping Cleveland off the scoreboard, and faced just three batters in six of his eight innings. He got Roberto Perez swinging at a 92 MPH cutter for his final out, his seventh punchout of the afternoon.
"This is the pitcher that Boston signed," Price told reporters after his outing. "For me to get back to that, it's about time."
"He was outstanding. Probably his best outing of the year," said Boston manager Alex Cora.
Price has been absolutely locked in his six starts since the All-Star break, going 4-0 with a 1.09 ERA, striking out 40 over 41.1 innings of work. The Red Sox have won 16 of his last 18 starts on the season.
Boston now hits the road for a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays before returning home for a two-game, interleague set against the Miami Marlins next week.
