Red Sox Recap: Royals flush Tazawa and Red Sox, 8-6
By Rick McNair
Aug 23, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (52) throws a pitch against the Kansas City Royals during the game at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
With a little “help” from my friends the lead disappears
The fourth saw a defensive disaster for Rodriquez.
With one out Hosmer banged a single to center. That presented no problem as Kendrys Morales bounced a sure double-play ball to Rutledge. Rutledge did his best to imitate a wicket and the ball went bouncing through to Betts. Error number one. Betts observed an opportunity to potentially divest the Royals of a possible run with toss to third.
Third is a base. A baseball base is a 15 inch square and Betts missed it by several feet or is it meters? Error number two and a run comes home for a tie, but not for long.
Royals fans now had the opportunity to chant “Moose” as Moustakas hammered a double and a run in and a 3-2 lead. The Red Sox survived a scare in the fifth.
Butera bounced a double into to the left field corner. The Royals, playing for a run, scarified Butera to third to set-up a one out situation for Zobrist who grounded out to freeze the runner on third. Cain, in a lengthy at bat, whacked a shot to Sandoval to end the threat.
Meanwhile the mist and fog were rolling in.
In the sixth, Moustakas went into a long at bat against Rodriguez and won it with a Monster Seats fly ball for his second home run of the series. That was the game for Rodriguez.
The Comeback
Rodriguez took the potential loss off his ledger when the Red Sox evened the game up in the last of the sixth.
Sandoval started the action with a wall ball double to center and eventually rode home on an Ortiz sacrifice to left field that just missed being a scrapper. Travis Shaw then followed with a two out double to right and that put the Sox into, yet again, a two out situation. Castillo drove in Shaw with a single to right and managed to get nailed in a rundown attempting to take second. New game.