Martinez slams Red Sox to 11-6 thumping of Tribe

BOSTON (AP) — Victor Martinez hit a grand slam against his former team and the Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 11-6 on Saturday night despite a shaky outing by Josh Beckett.

After missing his previously scheduled start with back spasms, Beckett (17-6) allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings in his final postseason tuneup.

But he’s 6-0 in his last eight postseason starts and is in line to start Game 2 of the AL division series Friday at the Los Angeles Angels.

Martinez’s homer in a seven-run second was his 23rd of the season and one of four by Boston, which can complete a four-game series sweep in today’s regular-season finale. Dustin Pedroia, Brian Anderson and Dusty Brown, with his first major league hit, had the others.

The Indians jumped out to a 4-1 lead over Beckett after 1 1-2 innings but extended their club record for consecutive road losses to 14.

Aaron Laffey (7-9) got battered in the second after striking out the last three batters in the first and dropped to 0-6 in his last six starts. He gave up eight runs and seven hits in two innings.

The Red Sox loaded the bases with no outs in the second on a double by David Ortiz, a walk to Jed Lowrie and a single by Casey Kotchman. One run scored on Anderson’s single and another on a balk.

Boston reloaded the bases on an intentional walk to Pedroia before Jason Bay singled in a run. Martinez then hit his first career grand slam into the Red Sox bullpen in right-center field for an 8-4 lead.

Martinez has been a major offensive force since being acquired at the July 31 trade deadline for pitcher Justin Masterson and two minor-league pitchers.

In 55 games with Boston, he’s batting .338 with eight homers and 41 RBIs.

Kotchman led off the third against Jensen Lewis with a single and Anderson followed with his fourth homer, making it 10-4.

Paul Byrd relieved Beckett after five innings then gave up a two-run homer in the seventh to Shin-Soo Choo, his 20th.

Brown, who replaced Martinez in the sixth, hit a solo shot in the eighth three nights after making his major-league pitching debut in the ninth inning of a 12-0 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Cleveland scored twice in the first off Beckett on a single by Michael Brantley, a double by Asdrubal Cabrera, an RBI groundout by Choo and a run-scoring single by Travis Hafner.