it was a playoff-type atmosphere that came down to the tying run dying on second

BOSTON — It was hyped as a big series — even though it’s still only August.Monday night http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-b.j.-upton-jersey , the first contest of a four-game set between the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox — the first of seven regular-season games between the likely postseason entrants, lived up to the billing.In short, base in the ninth inning. Article continues below ...Tuesday night, Nathan Eovaldi, who tossed 15 shutout innings in his first two starts with the Red Sox before a rocky road outing, faces rookie Shane Bieber on Tuesday night.“It’s my favorite road city to play in,” Michael Brantley said on television after hitting one of three Cleveland home runs in a 5-4 decision. ” … It’s a great atmosphere that they (the fans) bring every single time and it’s fun to be part of.”Asked what this type of game can mean for a kid such as teammate Greg Allen, who also homered, Brantley said: “It’s a little taste of the postseason, especially in the ninth inning like that, adrenaline gets going … it’s fun.”It wasn’t fun for the Red Sox Larry Doby Jersey , who have lost two straight and seen their lead atop the American League East shrink from 10 1/2 to a still-whopping nine games over the idle New York Yankees. Boston (88-36) has lost three games in a row once this season, in late April.The Indians spotted the Red Sox three runs but roared back on a home run by each of the three outfielders.“You look at them, they look like us over there,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Very dynamic, they can hit the ball out of the ballpark, they can come back like we do. You have to earn all 27 outs.”The Indians (72-52) moved to within three games of the Houston Astros for the No. 2 seed in the postseason.“I think a lot of people are making a big deal of it,” Corey Kluber said after earning his 16th win. “We’re both leading our division right now, stuff like that, but I think we’re kind of taking it as another series.“There’s no guarantee that the two of us will end up playing each other again down the road in the postseason, so …”Allen extended his hitting streak to 13 straight games (.383) while Brantley has batted .344 with two homers and 10 RBIs in August.Rick Porcello gave up the home runs and blamed himself on the third one.“Not trying to take anything away from him (Allen) but I think even I could have even hit that one pretty hard,” he said. “That was not a good pitch and it came at the worst possible time.”Bieber (6-2 Bob Feller Jersey , 4.37 ERA) is 1-0 with a 3.52 ERA over his last four starts and has 71 strikeouts in 68 innings on the season. He began the season winning his first four decisions and is 2-2 since.This will be his first appearance against Boston.Eovaldi (5-4, 3.62 ERA) is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA lifetime against the Indians, but the current Cleveland roster is batting a cumulative .324 gainst him. Yan Gomes is 4-for-8, Melky Cabrera (who also homered Monday) is 3-for-7 and Yonder Alonso 3-for-10.Boston’s Eduardo Rodriguez (ankle) made his first rehab start Monday night in Double A and the reports were positive. He is due to make one more rehab start, which would likely bring him back after Aug. 31. He would still be eligible for the postseason if he’s on the disabled list Sept. 1. NEW YORK — The last time the Washington Nationals faced the New York Mets, the Nationals appeared ready to reward the faith of the upper management figures who resisted the urge to tear down the perennial National League East champions.But a little more than three weeks later, it’s becoming clearer by the day the Nationals will end the season closer to the Mets than the playoffs.Two teams getting ready to play out the string will square off Friday, when the Nationals visit the Mets in the opener of a three-game series at Citi Field. Washington’s Gio Gonzalez (7-10, 4.51 ERA) is scheduled to oppose New York’s Jason Vargas (3-8, 7.67) in a battle of left-handers.Article continues below ...Both clubs lost highly anticipated pitcher’s duels Thursday.Nationals ace Max Scherzer was the losing pitcher as the Nationals fell to Aaron Nola and the visiting Philadelphia Phillies 2-0.Jacob deGrom, pitching for the host Mets http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-b.j.-upton-jersey , absorbed another hard-luck defeat when San Francisco Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner picked up the win by allowing five hits in eight innings of the Giants’ 3-1 victory.Scherzer and deGrom pitching Thursday robbed the series of its one potential bit of intrigue. Scherzer, the two-time defending NL Cy Young Award winner, is locked in an entertaining duel for the trophy this season with deGrom and Nola. Scherzer leads the Senior Circuit in wins (16), strikeouts (244) and WHIP (0.89). DeGrom leads the majors with a 1.71 ERA and is second in the NL in strikeouts (214) and WHIP (0.97). Scherzer and Nola are tied for second in the NL in ERA at 2.13 and Nola ranks second in wins (15) and fourth in strikeouts (169).DeGrom’s pursuit of the Cy Young has long been the main motivating factor for the Mets (56-71), who fell out of playoff contention by going 5-21 in June.“Our playoff hopes are not great because of where we are in the standings, but I feel like everybody’s trying to go out there and win games,” Mets manager Mickey Callaway said Thursday morning. “They obviously know that Jacob’s in the run that he’s in and it’s going to be a good (race). I think that motivates guys to a certain degree because of that.”The Nationals (64-64) looked like they might have more to play for than individual accolades when they throttled the Mets 25-4 on July 31, just hours after general manager Mike Rizzo declined to trade impending free agent stars such as Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy despite Washington entering the trade deadline at 52-53.A 5-3 win over the Mets the next day pulled the Nationals within five games of a playoff spot, but the momentum proved to be short-lived. Washington, which won the NL East in four of the previous six seasons, has gone 10-11 since Aug. 2 to fall 6 1/2 games behind in the race for the NL’s second wild card and eight games out of first place in the division.Scherzer will never acknowledge his Cy Young candidacy is the biggest remaining objective for the Nationals Joe Carter Jersey , but Rizzo began to wave the white flag Tuesday, when he traded Murphy to the Chicago Cubs and allowed the St. Louis Cardinals to claim first baseman Matt Adams.“Just go 1-0 every single day,” Scherzer told reporters Thursday afternoon.Gonzalez took the loss in his most recent start Sunday, when he allowed eight runs in 4 2/3 innings as the Nationals fell to the Miami Marlins 12-1. Vargas picked up the win Sunday, when he gave up two runs in 5 1/3 innings as the Mets beat the Phillies 8-2 in the Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pa.Gonzalez is 15-5 with a 2.90 ERA in 25 career starts against the Mets, including 11-1 with a 1.78 ERA in 16 starts at Citi Field. Vargas is 0-3 with a 1.15 ERA in five career games (two starts) against the Nationals.