Cleveland @ Boston preview
Fenway Park
Last Meeting ( Aug 2, 2010 ) Cleveland 6, Boston 5
Injuries have been the theme for the Boston Red Sox all year. They also became a big part of the story for the Cleveland Indians on Monday.
Cleveland lost highly-touted rookie catcher Carlos Santana to a knee injury in a collision in the seventh inning of the team's 6-5 win over Boston. The two clubs meet again at Fenway Park in the second of a four-game series on Tuesday.
Santana was injured attempting to tag Boston’s Ryan Kalish on a throw from right field. He remained on the field for 12 minutes before his knee was put in an air cast and he was carted off the field on a stretcher.
Boston also continues to lose its stars. Just when it appeared that the Red Sox were finally getting a bit healthier, they lost two more players on Monday. Outfielder Mike Cameron may be lost for the season and infielder Kevin Youkilis joined the long list of players on the sideline.
Cameron seems destined to miss the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a sports hernia. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Monday after his lower abdominal tear has gotten worse.
If the injury does not heal with rest, Cameron will face surgery and miss the remainder of the season.
While Cameron has been in and out of the lineup for much of the season, Youkilis’ injury could be crushing.
The Red Sox cleanup hitter was injured swinging a bat in the first inning. He was initially diagnosed with a jammed thumb and will undergo an MRI on Tuesday.
Should Youkilis’ injury turn out to be serious it could spell the end of Boston’s playoff hopes. Mike Lowell, who remains in limbo as the Red Sox ponder his future, could be a candidate to return to the team if Youkilis misses substantial time.
Outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury is scheduled to make another rehab start in Triple-A Pawtucket Tuesday.
Boston will start Josh Beckett on Tuesday. Beckett has been solid in his two starts since returning from the disabled list. He’s allowed four runs in 12 innings, both Red Sox victories. Beckett defeated the Los Angles Angels of Anaheim, 7-3, in his last outing, but is just 2-4 lifetime against the Indians.
Cleveland will turn to left-hander David Huff, who struggled in 13 starts with the Indians before being demoted to Triple-A Columbus. Huff was 2-9 at Cleveland, but went 6-0 in seven starts at Columbus. He's allowed 18 earned runs on 51 hits in 42 2/3 innings.
The Indians’ rotation is depleted after Jake Westbrook was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals and Mitch Talbot was placed on the disabled list on Friday.
The Indians roughed up John Lackey to win the first game of the series. Boston took a 1-0 lead in the second inning, but the Indians tagged Lackey for nine hits and six runs in 5 1/3 innings.
Shelley Duncan had four hits in Monday’s game. The Indians built a 6-1 lead but held on as Adrian Beltre hit two home runs, the second a three-run shot that capped the scoring.
Boston made a bid for its third straight walk-off victory but Chris Perez worked around a single in the ninth for his 13th save.