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Doug Fister fires one-hitter as Boston Red Sox rout Cleveland Indians

By Jim Ingraham, The Sports Xchange
Boston Red Sox Jackie Bradley hits an RBI single in the 5th inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in New York City on August 13, 2017. File photo by John Angelillo/UPI
Boston Red Sox Jackie Bradley hits an RBI single in the 5th inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in New York City on August 13, 2017. File photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

CLEVELAND -- It was all Doug Fister, from start to finish.

Fister pitched a one-hitter and Eduardo Nunez had a home run and a career-high five RBIs as the Boston Red Sox rolled to a 9-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night at Progressive Field.

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In his third start against Cleveland in the past 23 days, Fister (3-6) gave up a home run to Francisco Lindor leading off the first inning, then held Cleveland scoreless and hitless the rest of the way for his first complete game since Sept. 26, 2014.

He walked two, struck out six and hit a batter while throwing 114 pitches.

"He was outstanding," Boston manager John Farrell said. "The third pitch of the game gets hit out of the park for a home run, and after that, he pitched nine no-hit innings. A very impressive outing."

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Fister retired the last 14 batters he faced to end the game in authoring the first one-hitter by a Boston pitcher since Jon Lester threw one against the Toronto Blue Jays on May 10, 2013.

"He put on a clinic," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "He worked quick, was real efficient, he pitched the way you're supposed to. He went right through us."

Nunez hit a two-run double in the seventh inning and a three-run homer in the eighth.

Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco (12-6) pitched 6 2/3 innings, giving up six runs and eight hits with six strikeouts and one walk.

"He made a lot of mistakes with his fastball, and when he did, he paid for it," Francona said.

Jackie Bradley Jr. also homered for the Red Sox, who had 12 hits -- five of them for extra bases.

But the star of the show was Fister.

"This night was Doug Fister," Farrell said. "He and (catcher) Sandy Leon were in lockstep. He stayed out of the middle of the plate and had all four pitches working."

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In the first inning, Boston's Andrew Benintendi reached base when he grounded into a forceout at second. Benintendi stole second and scored on a single by Hanley Ramirez on a 3-2 pitch from Carrasco, giving the Red Sox a 1-0 lead.

Cleveland quickly tied it when Lindor led off the bottom half with his 21st home run of the season, which went into the seats in right field.

"The ball was carrying, and Cleveland has a strong offense, but after the home run, Doug was in complete control," Farrell said.

"The first batter made me pay for a bad curveball, and that kind of knocked me back a little," Fister said. "That's a quality offense, but our guys played great defense behind me, and our offense was great. Everything worked."

After Lindor's home run, Cleveland only had three baserunners, none of whom got past first base.

"He located his fastball with movement, changed speeds, and when he did make mistakes, we didn't hit them," Francona said.

Boston scored again in the second inning, which began with Xander Bogaerts' double to left-center field. Bogaerts went to third on an infield groundout by Mitch Moreland and scored on a sacrifice fly by Leon to the base of the left field wall.

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Boston extended its lead in the fifth on Bradley's 14th home run, a solo shot over the center field wall.

Nunez's two-run double in the seventh inning was followed by an RBI double by Benintendi, as the Red Sox stretched a 3-1 lead to 6-1.

NOTES: Indians 2B Jason Kipnis was removed from the game in the third inning because of right hamstring tightness. ... Boston CF Jackie Bradley Jr. left the game in the seventh inning with a left thumb injury. X-rays were negative, but he will fly to Boston on Wednesday for further tests. ... The Indians placed LHP Andrew Miller (right knee patellar tendinitis) and RHP Danny Salazar (right elbow inflammation) on the 10-day disabled list and recalled RHP Shawn Armstrong and INF/OF Yandy Diaz from Triple-A Columbus. ... Indians 1B Carlos Santana, who was removed from the Monday game in the eighth inning with tightness in his lower back, did not play. He is expected to be out for a few days. ... Boston placed RHP Matt Barnes on the 10-day DL with a lower back strain. The Red Sox recalled RHP Hector Velazquez from Triple-A Pawtucket.

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