Boston • Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello had the wind knocked out of him after taking a hard liner to the stomach. Two pitches later, Cleveland’s Greg Allen knocked the energy right out of Fenway Park.
Allen hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning right after Porcello was struck, Corey Kluber tied for the major league lead with his 16th win and the Indians beat the Red Sox 5-4 Monday night.
“That was intense,” Allen said. “You really weren’t sure [if he was staying in] especially after a hit like that.”
In a meeting of AL division leaders — and a matchup of the last two Cy Young Award winners, it was 3-all into the seventh.
Porcello (15-6) retired the leadoff batter and walked the next hitter. Yan Gomes followed with a liner that hit Porcello near the stomach — Porcello retrieved the ball near the mound, threw to second for a forceout and then slid to his knees, grabbing the spot where he was hit.
Porcello was checked on the mound, took a practice toss or two, and stayed in the game. Allen then sent a drive into the Indians’ bullpen.
“I don’t think the one that hit him had any effect on the next pitch. The first changeup was a good one,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “Then he threw another one and he hung it.”
Porcello said after he caught his breath that he was fine. He was more bothered by what he threw after that.
“The pitch to Allen — I’m not trying to take anything away from him — but I think even I could have hit that one pretty hard,” he said. “That was not a good pitch and it came at the worst possible time.”
Kluber (16-6) pitched into the seventh inning and matched Washington’s Max Scherzer and the Yankees’ Luis Severino for the most victories in the majors.
Braves 1, Pirates 0 • In Pittsburgh, Bryse Wilson worked five solid innings, becoming the third 20-year-old pitcher to start in his big league debut for Atlanta this season in the Braves’ victory over the Pirates. Wilson allowed three hits, struck out five and walked three as Atlanta increased its NL East lead to one game over idle Philadelphia while ending its four-game skid. The Braves scored in the first inning when Freddie Freeman hit a two-out double and scored on Nick Markakis’ single.
Brewers 5, Reds 2 • In Milwaukee, Travis Shaw and Christian Yelich homered, Chase Anderson settled in after giving up two solo homers and the Brewers rallied over Cincinnati. Shaw’s two-run homer off Homer Bailey put the Brewers up 3-2 in the sixth. Jesus Aguilar singled to open the inning and Shaw followed with his 25th homer, lining an 0-2 pitch into the right-field seats. Anderson, pitching on seven days’ rest, entered tied for the NL lead with 24 homers allowed and gave up second-inning solo shots to Eugenio Suarez and Phillip Ervin as the Reds took a 2-0 lead. Anderson then retired the final 14 hitters he faced.
White Sox 8, Twins 5 • In Minneapolis, Matt Davidson homered, Lucas Giolito struck out six in six innings and Chicago spoiled Stephen Gonsalves’ major league debut by holding off Minnesota. Playing without manager Rick Renteria, who experienced lightheadedness before the game and was taken to a hospital, Chicago won for the fourth time in five games in the makeup of snowed-out April contest. Davidson drove in three runs, and Jose Abreu had two hits and two RBIs.
Rays 1, Royals 0 • In St. Petersburg, Fla., Ryan Yarbrough helped extend Tampa Bay’s shutout streak to 23 innings, and the Rays got their only run via video replay in a win over Kansas City. Yarbrough (12-5) pitched 51⁄3 innings in relief of Rays opener Hunter Wood. The rookie left-hander gave up two hits and a walk while striking out six.
Blue Jays 5, Orioles 3 • In Toronto, Kendrys Morales homered twice, Marco Estrada pitched 51⁄3 innings to win his second straight start and the Blue Jays beat Baltimore, improving to 8-0 at home against the Orioles. Morales hit a one-out solo homer in the fourth, then added a three-run drive in the fifth — both off Baltimore right-hander Andrew Cashner (4-11) — for his 22nd career multihomer game. Renato Nunez replied with a solo home run for the struggling Orioles, who have lost nine of their past 11.
Giants 2, Mets 1 (13) • In New York, Brandon Crawford’s potential inning-ending popup in the 13th was dropped when Mets left fielder Dominic Smith plowed into shortstop Amed Rosario, giving San Francisco a win over New York. The Giants had runners at first and third and two outs when Crawford lifted a high pop. Rosario ranged into shallow left field, waved off Smith and was in position for a routine catch. But the bulky Smith came charging in and barged into Rosario.