CLEVELAND — Cody Allen is one of the least acclaimed yet most productive closers in the major leagues. On Friday night. when the Cleveland Indians open a three-game series with the Oakland A’s Troy Brouwer Jersey , Allen will be in uniform at Progressive Field for the first time as the Indians’ career saves leader.

In pitching the ninth inning of a 3-2 Cleveland win in Kansas City on Wednesday, Allen posted his 140th career save, breaking Bob Wickman’s franchise record of 139, which had stood since 2006.

“He means so much to all of us,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona said of Allen. “This is a kid who was drafted in the 16th round, but through being a consummate professional, he’s now the Indians’ all-time leader. That’s pretty awesome. It’s a big accomplishment, and he’s not close to being done.”

Allen (2-3, 3.38 ERA) ranks seventh in the American League this year with 18 saves, but his year-in, year-out consistency has been his trademark. He has had at least 30 saves in each of the last three seasons. Only two other closers in the majors can say that: the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Kenley Jansen and Boston’s Craig Kimbrel.

“This is something I’m extremely proud of,” Allen said of passing Wickman as the club’s saves leader. “It’s something I get to hang my hat on for my career. It’s very cool.”

The A’s (48-39) come to Cleveland with nearly the same record as the Indians (48-37), but what a difference a division makes. The first-place Indians lead the AL Central by 11 1/2 games. The A’s are in third in the AL West, 8 1/2 games behind the first-place Houston Astros.

The A’s won two of three games from the Indians last weekend in Oakland. That was part of a longer streak in which the A’s have won eight of their last nine. Since June 16, Oakland is 14-3.

“I think we’re having a lot of fun,” A’s third baseman Matt Chapman told MLB.com Ben Bishop Jersey , “and no matter what the score is, I don’t think we count ourselves out. There’s no panic in the dugout. We just keep playing our game. We trust that we’re a good team.”

On Friday night, the A’s will send Paul Blackburn (2-2, 6.46 ERA) to the mound. In his last start on June 29 in Oakland, Blackburn baffled the Indians, pitching 6 1/3 scoreless innings and giving up just three hits in a 3-1 victory.

Blackburn has started five major league games this year. In the one against Cleveland, he is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and an opponents’ batting average of .150. In the other four starts, he’s 1-2 with an 8.83 ERA and an opponents’ batting average of .324. In two career starts against the Indians, Blackburn is 1-0 with a 2.19 ERA.

Cleveland will counter with Carlos Carrasco (8-5, 4.24), who will make his first start since June 16, a 9-3 loss to Minnesota in which he was knocked out of the game in the second inning after getting hit in the right arm by a line drive off the bat of Joe Mauer.

Carrasco was placed on the 10-day disabled list the next day with a right elbow contusion. He made one rehab start at Double-A Akron on June 30, pitching four scoreless innings and giving up one hit with four strikeouts and one walk.

Carrasco’s last legitimate start was his best start of the year, a 4-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on June 11. In that game, he pitched seven scoreless innings and gave up two hits and one walk with 11 strikeouts.

In six career appearances, including five starts Marcus Foligno Jersey , against Oakland, Carrasco is 3-1 with a 2.61 ERA.

Jackie Bradley Jr. never doubted he would pull out of his slump, even as he hit .167 in June and fell further down Boston’s batting order.

He kept putting in the work. Kept tinkering with his stance and his swing. Kept believing he would snap out of it.

”You have to trust that what you’re doing is going to produce results,” Bradley said after his second straight three-hit game helped the Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 9-1 on Tuesday night.

”If it doesn’t early on, it’s a long season,” said Bradley, who batted ninth and drove in four runs. ”You’ve just got to continue to grind. There’s no other way.”

Mookie Betts homered on John Lamb’s first pitch of the game, and J.D. Martinez hit his major league-leading 24th home run to back David Price’s six strong innings and lead the Red Sox to their fourth win in the last five games. The Angels lost their fourth straight game.

Christian Vazquez also hit one of Boston’s four homers to help Price (9-5) bounce back from his previous loss on Wednesday in Minnesota that was his first since May 3. He allowed five hits on Tuesday, including a solo homer to Chris Young, and two walks while striking out seven.

Bradley has now had back-to-back multi-hit games after producing just five in his previous 68 games this season. He had three hits, all singles, against Seattle on Sunday but still entered the night hitting .189.

”We all want the results now,” Bradley said. ”Sometimes the game’s a lot tougher than that. You can do everything right and still be out.”

Two-time AL MVP Mike Trout, who began the game batting .387 in June, singled in four at-bats for the Angels while serving as designated hitter to aid his recovery from a sprained right index finger. The Angels went hitless in their last three innings against Boston’s bullpen and fell into fourth place in the AL West for the first time since opening day.

SAFE BETTS

Betts’ homer into the Red Sox bullpen sent right fielder Michael Hermosillo crashing over the wall in pursuit. It was his 15h career leadoff homer, extending his franchise record.

”Trying to set the tone against a good team Clay Matthews Jersey ,” Betts said. ”Just letting them know we’re here and we’re ready to go.”

SACRIFICIAL LAMB

Lamb (0-1) got just five outs. He allowed five runs, three earned, on six hits and a pair of walks.

He escaped more damage in the first after Betts’ 20th homer of the season, then was removed in the second after giving up Bradley’s two-run double and two more run-scoring hits.

”It was just a nice welcome to Fenway ballpark I guess by one of the better baseball players in the game right now,” Lamb said. ”I tried to get ahead on the outside part of the plate and they went ahead in the run column.”

Deck McGuire needed just one pitch to end that inning, but he surrendered solo homers to Bradley in the third and Vazquez in the fifth before Martinez hit one in the sixth that made it 8-1.

IN A JAM

Price only had trouble in the third, when Young homered and then the Angels loaded the bases with two out on two singles, a wild pitch and a walk. He retired Albert Pujols on a grounder to third to end the inning.

”Pujols can tie the game at that point,” Price said. ”To get that ground ball is big.”

TRAINER’S ROOM:

Angels: McGuire was checked out by the team athletic trainer after Christian Vazquez lined a ball up the middle in the third inning, but he remained in the game.

Red Sox: Knuckleballer Steven Wright was put on the 10-day DL with left knee inflammation, and RHP reliever Justin Haley was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket.

UP NEXT:

Angels: LHP Andrew Heaney (4-5, 3.43 ERA) gets his first start since going seven innings and allowing one earned run on Friday against Toronto. Heaney has pitched at least seven innings in three of his last four starts.

Red Sox: RHP Rick Porcello (9-3, 3.44) has allowed two earned runs or less in four of his last five starts, holding the Twins to one hit over seven scoreless innings in his last turn on Thursday.

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