Red Sox Vs. Indians: Boston Falls To 0-6, Matching Worst Start Since 1945

Darnell McDonald cost the Red Sox a chance at tying the game on Thursday afternoon, stumbling to the ground after running past second base and ultimately getting tagged out to give the Indians a 1-0 win, and a three-game sweep.

McDonald, who was subbed in with one out in the top of the ninth inning as a pinch runner for David Ortiz at first base, advanced to second on J.D. Drew's grounder, which bounced off of Indians pitcher Chris Perez to Adam Everett. Yet instead of staying on second, McDonald rounded the base and tripped. Everett promptly threw to second baseman Orlando Cabrera, who tagged out McDonald as he stumbled back to second. Take a look for yourself.

Following the game, McDonald spoke to reporters and attempted to explain his decision to round second.

"I'm trying to be aggressive. I'm trying to make them make the throw, lost my footing out there and just got caught in no-man's land. I was just trying to be aggressive and make them make the throw to first base," explained McDonald.

"It might have been wet. I'm not even sure. I lost my footing, tried to get back, thought I might have got in there, but ump said I didn't. Really just trying to make something happen. Just didn't work out."

The loss was the Red Sox sixth in a row to start the season, marking their worst start since the 1945 season.

For the first time since 1945, the Boston Red Sox have started a season 0-6. The 2011 version dropped their sixth-straight game to open this new campaign Thursday afternoon in Cleveland, falling to the Indians, 1-0. 

Jon Lester did his part to see the Red Sox get their first win of the season, allowing just three hits in seven shutout innings, while striking out nine batters. But once again, Boston's bats were quieted, this time by Fausto Carmona, a pitcher who less than a week ago surrendered 10 runs on 11 hits to the Chicago White Sox. 

The Red Sox' offense managed just four hits -- two from Marco Scutaro, the No. 9 hitter -- while leaving six runners on base. Five of Boston's starters are now batting .176 or lower. Which is laughably awful. 

Giving credit where credit is due, the Red Sox are at least finding new ways to lose each time. Thursday, it was on a suicide squeeze. With one out in the eighth inning, Asdrubal Cabrera laid down a perfect bunt down the third base line, scoring Adam Everett from third. And that was enough for the win. 

The Red Sox make their home debut on Friday, against the New York Yankees, at 2:05 p.m. ET.

Sixty-six years ago. That's the last time the Boston Red Sox started a season 0-6. Jon Lester will get the start Thursday afternoon against the Cleveland Indians (12:05 p.m. ET, NESN), charged with making sure Boston avoids its worst start since 1945. 

Here are the lineups, via Over The Monster. Same lineup as on Tuesday for the Red Sox, with Jarrod Saltalamacchia back behind the plate:

Boston Red Sox

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Carl Crawford, LF
3. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
4. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
5. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
6. David Ortiz, DH
7. J.D. Drew, RF
8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
9. Marco Scutaro, SS

Cleveland Indians

1. Orlando Cabrera, 2B
2. Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
3. Shin-Soo Choo, RF
4. Carlos Santana, C
5. Shelley Duncan, DH
6. Austin Kearns, LF
7. Matt LaPorta, 1B
8. Travis Buck, CF
9. Adam Everett, 3B

For the first time since 1996, the Boston Red Sox are 0-5. Panicking yet? 

With Wednesday night's loss to the Cleveland Indians, the Red Sox equaled their worst start in 15 years. As a team, Boston is hitting .190 -- and of its 31 hits, 17 have come from three players (Adrian Gonzalez, Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz). Starters Marco Scutaro, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Kevin Youkilis are a combined 4-for-41. And the offense has produced a total of 16 runs. Sixteens runs in five games! With two of those games coming against the Indians, a team that has lost 93 and 97 games the past two seasons. 

But it's not just the offense. The Red Sox' team ERA is 8.33, the worst in MLB.

Our Red Sox blog, Over The Monster, struggles to paint a positive picture.  

A purely objective look at the Red Sox' position right now shows that they are only three games behind of the Yankees (no, we will not be counting in the Orioles as legitimate contenders just yet)--a situation far better than the one they faced a month into the 2010 season. The Sox might not have made it to the postseason then, running out of gas as the injuries continued around July, but they overcame a larger mountain, setting the precedent to do it again.

A more subjective look at things, however, sets off alarms. Drop three to the Rangers? That can happen. Follow it up by making two mediocre pitchers look like Cy Young contenders while giving up two more games to the Indians? We're in trouble.

The Red Sox remain winless despite Adrian Gonzalez picking up his first homer with the team as the Indians clinched the series with an 8-4 win.

Daisuke looked about as sloppy as the rest of the starting staff to begin his outing. A two-run homer to Shin-Soo Choo in the first inning was especially reminiscent of the Texas series. But for much of the rest of the game, despite having issues with pitch counts and some walks, he settled down, escaping the game with just one more run on his record in five innings.

Up until Daisuke left, the Red Sox were actually able to keep close to the Indians, taking advantage of some lucky bounces off of gloves, a check-swing from J.D. Drew that actually ended up going for a base hit to left, and an RBI infield single from Marco Scutaro to score two runs.

But then came the bullpen. Specifically, Dennys Reyes and Dan Wheeler. Reyes wasted no time making it known he would not be effective, hitting the first two batters he faced before walking the third. His night was done. In came Dan Wheeler, and then things got ridiculous.

With the bases loaded and zero outs, Michael Brantley lined a ball to Kevin Youkilis, who knocked the ball down, stepped on third, and then fired home to Jason Varitek. With a tag needed to complete the double play, Varitek caught the ball with his foot on home, and then just walked forward, assuming the force out achieved. The run scored.

Of course, the home run that Asdrubal Cabrera hit next simplified things some, giving the Indians a secure 7-2 lead they would not give up.

Despite only scoring one run against Josh Tomlin and the Indians Tuesday, Terry Francona seems to have been happy enough with the lineup to stick with it for a second game. The one difference: replacing Jarrod Saltalamacchia with Jason Varitek, giving the Captain his first start of the year.

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Carl Crawford, LF
3. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
4. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
5. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
6. David Ortiz, DH
7. J.D. Drew, RF
8. Jason Varitek, C
9. Marco Scutaro, SS

To be fair to the lineup in question, it was not so much the order that cost the Red Sox on Tuesday as it was the entire team’s inability to pick up hits. It doesn’t matter what order the players come to the plate in if there’s never anyone on base to begin with.

The Indians will also have a slightly changed lineup, with Travis Buck taking over for Austin Kearns:

1. Michael Brantley, CF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
3. Shin-Soo Choo, RF
4. Carlos Santana, C
5. Travis Hafner, DH
6. Orlando Cabrera, 2B
7. Travis Buck, LF
8. Matt LaPorta, 1B
9. Jack Hannahan, 3B

The Red Sox will rely on, of all people, Daisuke Matsuzaka to try and give them their first win of the year. But if the Sox perform as poorly against Mitch Talbot as they did against Josh Tomlin, it’s not going to matter much what Daisuke does.

If an 0-3 start wasn't reason to panic, how about 0-4? The Red Sox lost their fourth straight game to start the season, falling 3-1 against the Cleveland Indians.

The Sox got one of their better starts of the year so far from Josh Beckett, but unfortunately, that's not saying much. After starting out with three scoreless innings, as has been typical in recent years, Beckett found himself getting roughed up as his pitch count rose. After striking out Carlos Santana to open the inning, Beckett allowed a double to Travis Hafner, and then on the very next pitch had Orlando Cabrera drive him in ahead of the throw from Carl Crawford. A walk to Austin Kearns and a strikeout of Matt LaPorta set up Jack Hannahan, who had spent 2010 with the Pawtucket Red Sox, with an RBI opportunity. He cashed in, knocking a base hit off of Beckett's glove and up the middle. A leadoff double from Asdrubal Cabrera in the fifth would tag Beckett with his third and final earned run.

Meanwhile, fresh off making Matt Harrison look like a Cy Young candidate, the Red Sox provided the same service to Cleveland's Josh Tomlin. The lineup, complete with Kevin Youkilis, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Dustin Pedroia, and David Ortiz could only manage one run off the righty, and that came off a seeing eye single from Jarrod Saltalamacchia-his first of the season.

What good can the Red Sox find in this loss? Well, Matt Albers and Bobby Jenks struck out the side in their two innings. And that's about it.

I'll leave you with this sobering statistic-one I'm sure all Sox fans will be hearing a lot of over the next 24 hours: No team has ever won the World Series after an 0-4 start.

Another game, another new lineup for Terry Francona and the Red Sox. The main change, as before, centers around Carl Crawford. Having collected his first two hits of the season Sunday against the Rangers, and with the Cleveland Indians throwing right-handed pitchers throughout the series, Crawford has been moved up to the second spot in the lineup, pushing Dustin Pedroia to third.

1.      Jacoby Ellsbury, CF

2.      Carl Crawford, LF

3.      Dustin Pedroia, 2B

4.      Adrian Gonzalez, 1B

5.      Kevin Youkilis, 3B

6.      David Ortiz, DH

7.      J.D. Drew, RF

8.      Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C

9.      Marco Scutaro, SS

It's a bit surprising, though not unwelcome, that Terry Francona has been willing to shuffle Crawford around in the lineup. While he seems to have acquired a reputation as a middle-of-the-order hitter, his numbers don't really carry that out on a team as offensively stacked as this one, and he's had nearly 49% of his at bats in the two-hole. Second is actually one of the most appropriate places for Crawford--it's how the rest of the lineup is affected that causes problems.

It's unclear what, exactly, Francona's objection is to putting his best hitters in the traditional 3-4 slots. While Dustin Pedroia is one of the best players on the team, he doesn't really come close to Gonzalez or Youkilis offensively, or even Carl Crawford and David Ortiz against righties. Meanwhile, Jacoby Ellsbury, whose role as the leadoff hitter has been called into question time after time in recent years, has put himself beyond reproach for the moment with his strong start.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia continues to get starts behind the plate despite his lack of a hit. While Sox fans might expect him to sit in favor of Jason Varitek when Josh Beckett is on the mound, it seems like Francona wants him to get that first base knock out of the way as soon as possible.

The Indians will counter with a rather less potent offense:

1.      Michael Brantley, CF

2.      Asdrubal Cabrera, SS

3.      Shin-Soo Choo, RF

4.      Carlos Santana, C

5.      Travis Hafner, DH

6.      Orlando Cabrera, 2B

7.      Austin Kearns, LF

8.      Matt LaPorta, 1B

9.      Jack Hannahan, 3B

The Red Sox are in desperate need of a strong start from Josh Beckett, and against this lineup, it would not be too surprising if they got one. The only man on the team who has given the former ace trouble in recent years is Shin-Soo Choo. While Travis Hafner once destroyed him, it's been years since he's done any real damage. The only other major threat is Carlos Santana, who hasn't seen Beckett before, but is killing the ball to start the 2011 season.

As for Josh Tomlin, well, suffice it to say that he's going to have his hands full.