BOSTON — The Red Sox rounded the bases at a rapid rate and broke an 84-year-old AL record.
Twelve batters came up and all 12 scored before Boston made its first out more than a half hour into the bottom of the sixth inning of a 13-3 win over the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night.
“It gets kind of crowded at the helmet rack,” Jeff Bailey said. “I know that everybody wants to get up there.”
Boston broke the AL record of 11 runs in an inning before making an out and tied the modern major league mark of 12. It accomplished the feat without three injured regulars — Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz and Jacoby Ellsbury.
They were replaced by Bailey and Rocco Baldelli, who each drove in two runs in the inning, and Julio Lugo, who began it with a single, his third hit of the game.
“It was pretty sweet, especially with a makeshift squad out there,” said Bailey, who was recalled from the minors on April 22.
Baldelli’s two-run double gave Boston a 4-2 lead, Jason Bay hit a three-run homer and an RBI double and three other batters had two-run hits in the sixth when the Red Sox obliterated a 2-1 deficit.
“You’ve got to give Rocco credit,” Cleveland’s Ryan Garko said. “That at-bat changed the game.”
Boston had nine hits and three walks in the inning before Matt Herges retired Mike Lowell on a grounder to third, drawing cheers from the crowd. Then he struck out Baldelli and got J.D. Drew on a grounder to second.
“I think Mike Lowell got mad because he was the first one who made an out. It was a little funny,” Lugo said.
The inning turned a one-run deficit for Tim Wakefield (4-1) into a 13-2 lead. He allowed two runs to score in the fifth on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly by Asdrubal Cabrera and won his fourth straight decision.
“I feel very confident. I’ve been getting deep into games,” Wakefield said. “That’s my job here as the fourth or fifth starter.”
Jeremy Sowers (0-1) gave up one run on four hits through five innings. But he left the game after allowing the first six batters to reach base in the sixth.
The Red Sox tied the mark for games since 1900 set by the Brooklyn Dodgers on May 24, 1953. The Dodgers had 12 runs in the eighth inning of a 16-2 win at Philadelphia, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
The previous AL record was set by the Detroit Tigers, who scored 11 runs in the sixth inning in a 19-1 win at the New York Yankees on June 17, 1925.
“You’ve got to have people come up from the bullpen and get people out,” Cleveland manager Eric Wedge said. “It just can’t keep happening. We’ve tried everybody.”
After Lugo’s leadoff single in the sixth, Dustin Pedroia walked and Bay doubled in the tying run. Lowell was walked intentionally and Baldelli singled in two runs. Drew then walked and Masa Kobayashi replaced Sowers, who was recalled from Triple-A Columbus on Thursday after starter Aaron Laffey was moved to the bullpen to help the Indians struggling relief corps.
But Kobayashi did even worse.
He allowed hits to all five batters he faced. Bailey doubled in two runs before Nick Green’s infield single loaded the bases. George Kottaras then doubled home two more. Lugo’s single reloaded the bases and Pedroia singled in two runs, making it 10-3 and chasing Kobayashi.
Then Bay, on a 3-1 pitch from Herges, hit his eighth homer of the season to right-center field.<
Notes: Ortiz was scratched from the lineup with a stiff neck, Youkilis missed his third straight game with tightness in his left side and Ellsbury sat out his second in a row with a tight right hamstring. … Victor Martinez’s 15-game hitting streak ended. … Boston is 16-5 in its last 21 games. … Wedge gave CF Grady Sizemore the night off. It’s “something we talked about three or four days ago,” Wedge said. “It’s a good day with (knuckleballer) Wakefield. It’s right in the middle of a 17-day stretch” of games. … Cleveland IF Tony Graffanino was outrighted to Triple-A Columbus.
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