Red Sox swept by Pirates

Sep 18, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA;Boston Red Sox starting pitcher

(67) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the second inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

It’s be a long, tough season for the Red Sox and their fans. No win came easy and every loss had a sting to it. Nothing could take away the joy that last season brought, of course, and the future does look bright, but it’s still no fun to be in last place.

Brandon Workman took the mound for the Red Sox. He pitched five innings while allowing seven hit and two earned runs. Workman struck out six, which is twice as many as Clay Buchholz the night before or Anthony Ranaudo the night before that. Workman was still tagged with the loss.

The Red Sox didn’t go down easily at least. They lost 3-2, but they threatened to tie it up in the eight and the ninth. In the top of the eighth inning Christian Vazquez and Garin Cecchini singled with no outs. Xander Bogaerts‘s sacrifice fly scored Vazquez and brought the Sox within one run. The ninth inning started with Allen Craig getting hit by a pitch and Daniel Nava singling. In a strange turn of events Mill Middlebrooks hit a single that drove Nava to second but hit Jemile Weeks in fair territory as he was going back to third base. The next two Sox went down in order to end the game and complete the sweep for the Pirates.

The Red Sox continue to Baltimore for their last three road games of the season starting with Allen Webster (4-3, 6.02 ERA) going against Kevin Gausman (7-7, 3.57 ERA).