The Cleveland Indians have become the surprise team of the AL Central and will look to keep things rolling Friday night as Terry Francona makes a return to Boston to take on the Red Sox at 7:10 pm ET.

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Via ESPN:

Cleveland (27-19) finished 68-94 last season, 20 games out of first place. To turn around the franchise, the Indians hired Francona after he was dismissed following eight years in Boston (28-20) that included two World Series titles.

The move is paying off -- Cleveland leads the division by one-half game on Detroit -- the two-time reigning Central champion.

The Indians, 22-9 in their last 31, also gave Francona a memorable return to Fenway, pounding out 16 hits in a 12-3 win to open this four-game set with their highest scoring game there without a homer since June 24, 1953.

"I think everyone wanted to go out there and get a win, not just for the team but for (Francona) also," said starter Zach McAllister, who was credited with Thursday's victory. "He's been great for us this year and he's well liked everywhere he is. It's definitely exciting to get him a win."

Giving the ball to Masterson (7-2, 2.83 ERA) should give the Indians a good chance at another win.

The right-hander is tied with two others for second in the majors in victories, one back of Tampa Bay's Matt Moore. That's a dramatic improvement after he went 11-15 with a 4.93 ERA in 2012.

Masterson has won three straight starts behind a 1.17 ERA, and he's matched his career high from April 2-12 by tossing 19 consecutive scoreless innings after beating Seattle 6-0 on Sunday.

He struck out 11 Mariners while yielding three hits in seven innings.