This season, the Red Sox have defeated themselves far too frequently due to subpar defense. Before giving the Giants two leads on two mistakes and falling 9–5 on Sunday in San Francisco, they had led the majors in errors with 66.
The Giants scored five unearned runs.
We need to improve our defense. “I mean,” manager Alex Cora told reporters, “the entire weekend was kind of sloppy.”
Lucas Giolito had gone 12 straight innings without giving up an earned run going into the series finale.
When third baseman Nate Eaton and left-fielder Jarren Duran collided while trying to catch a pop-up in the bottom of the third, the Giants scored and took a 2-1 lead, but that streak held firm. The mistake was first attributed to Eaton, but it was eventually moved to Duran.
We made a mistake, after all. Giolito told reporters, “I have to try to limit the damage better.”
In the fifth inning, Rob Refsnyder and Romy Gonzalez, who are essentially used as lefty specialists, seized the lead again with two home runs, but the Giants quickly erased Boston’s second and last lead.
In a another reality, Mike Yastrzemski, who is drafted by the Red Sox in 2009, signs with them and dons the same uniform as his well-known grandfather. The younger Yaz, however, is a Giant in this dimension and enjoys going yard against Captain Carl’s former club. He did this to tie Sunday’s game in the bottom of the fifth inning and during his Fenway Park debut on September 19, when the Giants visited Boston the previous season. Yastrzemski hit a ball 352 feet to right two hitters after Casey Schmitt led off the inning with a 352-footer to left.
Giolito said that it was really annoying. I became a little upset, so I used it as a kind of focus and made some much better pitches in the sixth inning.
Giolito recovered with a sixth-inning score of 1-2-3. He had five strikeouts, two earned runs, two unearned runs, two walks, and four hits when he left the game. For a starter who had only reached six innings three times in his first six starts of the season, it was his third straight start of at least six innings with no more than two earned runs allowed.
Giolito remarked, “I thought my sixth inning was my best inning.” Although it seemed more like a grinder outing, I finally got my rhythm in the sixth inning. We seemed to be struggling through it, but in the sixth inning, I found it. Sometimes, it seems like the more pitches you throw, the more locked-in you get.
At six innings, he was only at 83 pitches. The mistakes affected the game there as well.
Gio was alright. He made more pitches, so we didn’t make the play right away, Cora clarified. I was considering the seventh, but we had our people lined up, and they’ve been fantastic, right? If we make a play in that inning, I believe.
Despite their recent success, Boston’s bullpen faltered on Sunday. After giving up a leadoff single to Willy Adames and a double to Schmitt, Greg Weissert was unable to escape the seventh inning. A pitching change was made by Cora after Tyler Fitzgerald’s sacrifice bunt knotted the game.
The Red Sox gave the Giants a lead they wouldn’t let go of when Justin Wilson was on the mound. The go-ahead run was scored when Gonzalez dropped a ball that Yastrzemski had lined up straight at him and allowed it to dribble past him into the outfield.
Zack Kelly entered to conclude the eighth after Wilson failed to record an out. Willy Adames’ 402-foot homer to deep left was just the Red Sox’s fourth earned run, and he returned for the eighth and allowed the ninth Giants run.
While some pitchers get out to a solid start and struggle later, others get better as they go along. The latter is the case with Robbie Ray. The left-hander for the Giants had a 3.40 ERA from the first to the third inning and a 2.17 ERA from the fourth to the sixth going into Sunday’s game. In their first plate appearances, opponents averaged.241 with a.668 OPS,.190 with a.572 OPS the second time, and only.160 with a.525 OPS the third time.
The Red Sox, who came into Sunday ranked sixth in slugging (.430), fourth in OPS (.784), third in batting average (.271), second in doubles (42), and first in on-base percentage (.354), make up for their dreadful defensive deficiencies when facing left-handers. They knocked Ray out of the game after the fifth inning after tagging him for four runs, three earned, on eight hits, including two home runs. On 88 pitches (61 strikes), he struck out seven and gave up one walk.
Despite going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and leaving eight men on base, the Red Sox eventually outhit their hosts 12-11, including Ceddanne Rafaela’s eighth homer of the season in the sixth.
In the fourth inning, Abraham Toro attempted to jump past catcher Patrick Bailey’s tag, but home-plate umpire Mike Muchlinkski instantly ruled him out for being outside the base line. This aggressive send by third-base coach Kyle Hudson resulted in an inning-ending out. In order to close out the eighth, Gonzalez was also caught stealing second.
When he lost despite hitting well against Ray, Cora remarked, “I don’t feel it’s deflating.” We performed admirably against him. I’ve been saying for a while that if you give the opposition more than 27 outs, you’re going to pay the price, and we did.
After a weekend filled with missed calls by the San Francisco umpires, Duran’s successful stretch of a single into a double only to be ruled out in the top of the eighth boiled over with rage. Even though it was evident from the play review that Duran touched the base with at least one finger in time, the call was upheld.
Duran was later expelled after being observed yelling and screaming and needing to be escorted out by third-base instructor Kyle Hudson. Cora was, too, a few moments later.
Yes, Cora said, “I mean, it’s obvious that he’s safe.”
The Sox captain claimed that the Toro call in the fourth inning was what really irritated him.
I asked, “How?” when Muchlinski stated he was off the line. “Cora said.” You established it, you made the turn, and he simply leaped over him. He’s an athlete, you know. That was the root of my entire frustration at the end. And the check swings and the first game, of course.
It is what it is. I detest being kicked out. I hate to say it, but I must defend my player, of course.
