CLEVELAND -- It's been a long road back for Josh Tomlin, but it is been worth the journey.

The Cleveland Indians right-hander capped his comeback from shoulder surgery in spring training by winning his last start of the season, 8-2 over the Boston Red Sox on a windy and cold Friday night at Progressive Field.

First baseman Carlos Santana had two hits and three RBIs and Tomlin pitched into the seventh inning.

Santana's three-run double was the big blow in a four-run Cleveland third inning, and Tomlin had only one hiccup, allowing a two-run home run by designated hitter David Ortiz in the fourth inning. Ortiz is 2-for-14 in his career vs. Tomlin and both the hits are home runs.

Tomlin (7-2) spent the first four months of the season on the disabled list recovering from shoulder surgery in March. Since his return, he has been outstanding. In his last nine starts, he was 7-1 with a 3.03 ERA.

"I'm not the only one who has had to go through an injury. The key is to work your butt off to get back as quickly as you can. I take a lot of pride in giving us a chance to win, and I think I did that in most of my starts," Tomlin said.

"For the number of starts he's had, he had a heck of a year, especially with what he has had to battle back from," said Indians manager Terry Francona.

Tomlin threw 99 pitches in 6 1/3 innings, holding the Red Sox to two runs on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks. The two runs came on Ortiz's home run.

"Ortiz did what he does when you catch too much of the plate. But other than that, Josh was great. He had really good command of his breaking ball, even in that weather," Francona said.

Rookie left-hander Henry Owens (4-4) started for Boston, and was roughed up by the Indians for seven runs on 10 hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings.

"Henry wasn't consistent with his fastball command, and give their hitters credit. They waited him out," said Boston's acting manager Torey Lovullo.

Leading 7-2, the Indians added their last run in the seventh inning on a solo home run by right fielder Jerry Sands off right-hander Jonathan Aro to make it 8-2.

Cleveland took a 4-0 lead in the third inning. The first three came on Santana's double.

"Every year everyone asks what's wrong with Carlos and then you look up at the end of the year and he's pushing 90 RBIs, has 100 walks and hopefully 20 home runs," Francona said.

Third baseman Chris Johnson's RBI single drove in Cleveland's fourth run of the inning.

Tomlin held Boston scoreless on one hit through the first three innings. He retired the first two batters in the fourth inning, but shortstop Xander Bogaerts singled. Ortiz then hammered a 1-1 pitch into the seats in right field for his 37th home run, cutting the Cleveland lead to 4-2. It was career homer No. 503 for Ortiz, one shy of tying him with Eddie Murray for 26th on the all-time list.

The two RBIs gave the 39-year-old Ortiz 107 for the year.

"David plays in tough conditions like that and hits a big home run for us. He wants to go out and play, and let his teammates see him play," said Lovullo, who left it up to Ortiz to decide whether he would play in Friday's game.

The Indians got two runs back in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI double by Sands and an RBI single by center fielder Abraham Almonte to extend the lead to 7-2.

NOTES: The Indians' game with the Tigers on Monday at Progressive Field will not be played. That was supposed to be a makeup of the game Sept. 12 that was postponed due to rain. Monday's game was only going to be played if it had postseason implications. Since it doesn't, the game will not be played. ... For the first time since 2005, the Indians will finish with a better winning percentage on the road than at home. They were 42-39 (.519) on the road, and with three home games remaining they were 36-41 (.468) at home. ... Red Sox SS Xander Bogaerts is tied with Houston's Jose Altuve for the American League lead in hits with 194. Bogaerts is bidding to become the third Red Sox player in the last 18 years to lead the league in hits. The other two are Adrian Gonzalez (2011) and Dustin Pedroia (2008).