The Red Sox were in control.
Nate Eovaldi breezed through the first four innings Friday night against the Blue Jays. They scored their first run of the contest off Jays starter Alek Manoah on a Xander Bogaerts sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth inning. An inning later, Kiké Hernández waved with a grin toward his teammates after an RBI single that increased the Sox’ lead to two runs.
Then, the fifth inning hit, literally. There were no more smiles. Just an onslaught by the Blue Jays that buried the Sox in what was ultimately an embarrassing 12-4 loss.
The Red Sox have lost seven of their last eight, a bad run that started when the Blue Jays won two of three at Fenway in late July.
Eovaldi got hit by a Toronto avalanche, allowing seven runs on six hits in that inning alone.
“I feel like I’ve let the team down,” Eovaldi said afterward. “I got to do a better job of managing the game, especially tonight. I felt like I was in control. The bottom part of the lineup got to me. They’re a great hitting team and I got to face the top of the lineup, and it just felt like I couldn’t stop the bleeding.”
Indeed, the Sox bled.
It began with three straight doubles by the bottom of the Blue Jays order. Randal Grichuk’s double plated the Jays’ first run. Breyvic Valera’s double knotted it at two apiece. With two out in the frame, Bo Bichette steered a high fastball off the top of the right field wall, bringing across the Jays’ third run. Teoscar Hernadez’s double brought across two more runs. Lourdes Gurriel then belted a two-run homer.
Newly-acquired reliever Hansel Robles took over for Eovaldi and allowed two more runs. What was once a 2-0 lead turned into a nine-spot inning.
Red Sox starters, meanwhile, have an 8.40 ERA in the last 11 games.
If there were ever a bottom for the Red Sox, that fifth frame, which happened in a blink, was it.
The Red Sox got two of the runs back in the sixth on a Hunter Renfroe home run. They loaded the bases in the seventh with two outs, bringing up Renfroe once more. But he popped out to shortstop to end the threat.
The Blue Jays added single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth — the last against infielder Jonathan Araúz. Martín Pérez, who was moved to the bullpen, came on to pitch the seventh and allowed a run following a George Springer RBI triple. The Blue Jays racked up 17 hits, while the Red Sox had eight.
The Sox (64-47) fall to 2½ games behind the Rays in the American League East. They are 1-7 in their last eight contests and have three more against a Blue Jays team that is 13-7 following the All-Star break and 7-1 in their last eight contests.
“Maybe we have to try harder,” said a frustrated Xander Bogaerts, who was 0 for 3 on the evening. “Apparently what we’re doing right now is not enough. Coming from me it really sucks not to produce and help the team. We know this game is about whoever is putting up more runs. This is a really, really bad time to be playing bad right now.”
Despite the rotation’s woes, Bogaerts shouldered much of the blame, saying the offense could do more to help the pitchers out offensively. Heading into Friday, the Sox were hitting .247 after the All-Star break.
“You can say whatever you want about the pitching staff, but if you’re not putting runs up to help them feel a bit relaxed, it also falls on us,” Bogaerts said.
The Red Sox will have Nick Pivetta on the mound for Saturday’s split doubleheader followed by Tanner Houck for the evening contest. The Yankees won in 11 innings vs. the Mariners, which put them just three games behind the Red Sox for second place in the division. The Sox must figure out a way to respond to what has been a tumultuous skid.
“Come on, man. I mean, how many more do you want to lose?” Bogaerts said. “You’re not gaining any ground by losing.”
Julian McWilliams can be reached at julian.mcwilliams@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @byJulianMack.
"really" - Google News
August 07, 2021 at 09:57AM
https://ift.tt/3jzKDgq
A really low five as Nate Eovaldi, Red Sox fall apart quickly in loss to Blue Jays - The Boston Globe
"really" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3b3YJ3H
https://ift.tt/35qAk7d
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "A really low five as Nate Eovaldi, Red Sox fall apart quickly in loss to Blue Jays - The Boston Globe"
Post a Comment