Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia owns the franchise record at his position for consecutive games without an error – a streak that ended tonight.
It had gotten to the point where we started to wonder if Dustin Pedroia would ever commit an error again. Turns out the second baseman for the Boston Red Sox is human after all.
Pedroia hadn’t committed an error in his last 114 games, a run that set a franchise record for second basemen. That streak came to an end Wednesday night when he misplayed a ground ball up the middle off the bat of Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Darwin Barney.
Of course it had to be a fellow second baseman who snapped Pedroia’s streak. Coincidentally, his streak is the longest in the majors since Barney went 141 games without an error in 2012.
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The fifth inning error allowed Miguel Montero to advance to third base, were he would score on a sac fly from Jose Bautista. Red Sox starter Drew Pomeranz struck out Steve Pearce to end the inning, keeping the damage to one unearned run. That would end up being the only run Pomeranz allowed over his 6 2/3 innings of work.
If Pedroia was fazed by his mistake, it didn’t show. He cleanly fielded the next ground ball hit his way to begin the top of the sixth, then aided on an inning-ending double play.
The last time that Pedroia committed an error was on August 19 of last season against he Detroit Tigers. The throwing error was followed by a two-run homer, although it can’t really have hurt too much considering those were the only two runs Boston allowed in a convincing 10-2 victory.
Every other qualified second baseman in the majors entered the day with at least two errors this season. Detroit’s Ian Kinsler has committed a pair while posting a .994 fielding percentage that puts him second behind Pedroia. There are eight major league second baseman who have committed at least seven errors this season. Pedroia now has seven errors over the last two seasons combined.
Pedroia has never committed more than seven errors in a single season and this year will be no different. It may not take another 114 games, but don’t expect to see Pedroia make another error again anytime soon. The four-time Gold Glove winner may end up adding another trophy to his mantle if he keeps this up.
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The sure-handed second baseman has long been among the best at his position. We may one day look back at Pedroia as the best to ever play the position in Red Sox history.