Indians can't make it three straight against Boston, fall 10-4: Three Takeaways

BOSTON – You win some, you lose some. That seems like a fitting phrase for Indians fans to keep in mind after a 10-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday. Simply put, it was not the Indians night.

Even after taking the first two games of this four-game series, Cleveland wasn't going to be able to hold this Red Sox team down forever. 14 hits and 10 runs later and Boston earned their first win over the Indians this season, in a 10-4 final, avoiding their first four-game losing streak of the season. The loss did the opposite for the Tribe, halting their three-game win streak in its tracks. It was just their fifth loss of the month though.

Cleveland got out to an early lead but Carlos Carrasco struggled in what became just his second loss since the All-Star Break. Here are three takeaways from the Indians tough night in Beantown.

1) Welcome back Edwin

Just hours after being activated from the disabled list, Edwin Encarnacion made an emphatic return to the Indians starting lineup. The slugger stepped to the plate in the top of the first with Francisco Lindor on second and launched a mammoth two-run bomb over the Green Monster to put the Tribe up 2-0 early.

He wasn't done though. In the fifth, he did it again, taking the parrot for another stroll via a second two-run shot into the monster seats. The pair of bombs were is 26th and 27th of the season. It was also the 32nd multi-home run game of his career and his fourth this season. In defeat, Encarnacion was literally the Indians entire offense. Not bad for a return to the field.

2) Fenway Flop

In our preview for Wednesday's game we shared Carlos Carrasco's numbers against the Red Sox and at Fenway Park. They aren't pretty. Entering the contest, Carrasco had appeared in seven games and made five starts against the Red Sox and had a 6.83 ERA – his highest against any one opponent. Meanwhile, at Fenway he had a 7.07 ERA in four appearances.

Well, Carrasco's struggles in Boston continued. The righty lasted just three and two-third innings on Wednesday night, gave up eight of the Red Sox 14 total hits and five earned runs. This comes after Carrasco had been brilliant in his six previous starts since the All-Star Break. All good things must come to an end.

3) M.I.A

One of the most intriguing aspects of this series was the fact that it featured four potential MVP candidates in Boston's Mookie Betts and JD Martinez and the Indians Francisco Lindor and José Ramirez. Unfortunately, the latter two had largely failed to live up to the hype in the first two games. Between them, they had registered just one hit entering Wednesday's matchup and they had struck out four times. They were essentially missing in action.

Finally, they showed a little pep in their step in Game Three. Ramirez got on the board with his first hit of the series – a double in the third – and added a single later on for a two-hit night. Meanwhile, Lindor provided a leadoff double and scored on Encarnacion's first home run. It's progress. Thursday's season finale will serve as a last chance for the Indians duo to showcase their star power in Boston...till the playoffs anyway.