Boston's Bats Cooled Off In 8-2 Loss To Cleveland

Travis Shaw stayed hot, but the rest of the Boston Red Sox could not.

The rookie infielder slugged a third-inning home run and drove in another run with a single in the ninth, but that was all the offense Boston could muster in an 8-2 loss to Danny Salazar and the Cleveland Indians.

The Red Sox scored 45 runs on 60 hits in their previous three games against Seattle.

"He's hitting some quality pitching," Red Sox interim manager Torey Lovullo said of Shaw. "He hit a great pitch tonight for a long home run. It was impressive."

Shaw is batting .328 (19 for 58) with five home runs and 10 RBIs in 21 games since being called up from Triple-A Pawtucket on Aug. 1.

"He's a beast," said teammate Jackie Bradley Jr., who played with Shaw in Pawtucket. "He's really swinging the bat well. That's what I've seen all the time. He's a very special player."

Matt Barnes (3-3) was called up Monday from Triple-A and made his first major league start, giving up six runs on six hits in five innings. The 25-year-old right-hander held the Indians hitless for the first 3 1-3 innings.

"I felt really good out there," Barnes said. "I thought I had really good command of all three pitches. The fastball, when it missed, was around the zone. Curveball I felt really good with. I was able to use a changeup, as well."

Salazar pitched seven strong innings to cool off Boston's hot bats, and Lonnie Chisenhall had a solo homer and three RBIs to carry the Indians.

Carlos Santana also hit a solo shot, and Chisenhall's two-run double highlighted a five-run fourth that lifted Cleveland to its sixth win in nine games.

Salazar (11-6) allowed one run on four hits, striking out five and walking one. He's given up two-or-fewer runs in six of his last seven starts.

The Indians took the lead with their five-run inning against Barnes.

Abraham Almonte's safety squeeze made it 1-1, and he reached on the bunt for a hit. Chisenhall then doubled over the head of left fielder Hanley Ramirez, who had a late break on the ball that hit low on the Green Monster. Jerry Sands and Mike Aviles followed with consecutive run-scoring singles.

Santana homered in the fifth, and Chisenhall hit his an inning later.