Boston’s Enrique Hernandez sits on the ground after ducking away from a pitch in the sixth inning Wednesday against the Cleveland Guardians. Cleveland won, 5-2. Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press
CLEVELAND — Amed Rosario and Josh Naylor each had three hits and an RBI, Josh Bell drove in a run for the sixth consecutive game and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Boston Red Sox 5-2 on Wednesday night.
Rosario singled twice against Kutter Crawford (1-3), then had an RBI double off Justin Garza as the Guardians scored two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to erase a 2-1 deficit.
Bell drove in a pair to give him eight RBI during his streak that began May 28. Naylor had two singles and a double for Cleveland, which has split the first two games of the series.
Rookie Tanner Bibee (2-1) pitched five innings, allowing one earned run, for his first victory at Progressive Field. The right-hander struck out two and gave up four hits in his eighth start since being recalled from Triple-A Columbus.
Emmanuel Clase worked a hitless ninth for his MLB-best 20th save.
Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas, second baseman Enmanuel Valdéz and third baseman Rafael Devers committed errors in the fourth, leading to a pair of unearned runs that gave Cleveland a 3-2 lead.
Devers mishandled Bell’s grounder off Brennan Bernardino, sending José Ramírez home with the go-ahead run. Ramírez had reached when Casas and Valdéz committed miscues before he touched first base.
Boston tied a season high with three errors, upping its AL-leading total to 43. The Red Sox have lost four of five and is 10-17 since May 7.
Crawford, has been in the bullpen for most of the season, made his second start in five days for Boston, pitching three innings with three strikeouts. The right-hander was charged with three runs, one earned.
Devers singled home Alex Verdugo in the first for the Red Sox, but Cleveland tied it in the second on Bell’s RBI single. Devers was the only Boston player with two hits.
Red Sox left-hander Chris Murphy made his big-league debut, working 3 1/3 scoreless innings.
IMPACT PLAYER
Boston’s Masataka Yoshida is the only rookie among the top 10 in the majors in both batting average and on-base percentage. The 29-year-old Japanese outfielder signed a five-year, $90 million contract after spending seven seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball.
“So far, he’s been great and we love him in the dugout,” Manager Alex Cora said. “I’m glad he’s been comfortable enough to communicate more. Last night, he pointed out something to Jarren (Duran) that he saw while he was hitting.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Red Sox: Infielder Yu Chang (left hamate fracture) is 2 for 7 with a stolen base through two games of his rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester. Cora said Chang will remain with the WooSox until at least the end of the weekend.
Guardians: Right-hander Cody Morris (right shoulder strain) allowed one run in three innings of a rehab start for Triple-A Columbus against Louisville on Tuesday. Morris has a 1.04 ERA over 8 1/3 innings with the Clippers and Double-A Akron.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
