BOSTON (AP) — Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched eight solid innings and Adrian Beltre hit a grand slam to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 6-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night, earning a split of the four-game series.
Matsuzaka (8-3) allowed Shin-Soo Choo’s 14th homer of the season in the first but gave up just four more hits and never faced more than four batters in any inning. He is 5-1 in his last 10 starts and has allowed three earned runs or less in 10 of his last 12 outings.
Beltre connected for his 20th homer in the fourth inning after Josh Tomlin (1-1) retired Boston’s first 10 batters. Beltre took over the team’s RBI lead with 75.
Jonathan Papelbon got his 26th save in 31 opportunities when he struck out Trevor Crowe with the bases loaded for the final out.
