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Red Sox World Series: Five reasons why Game 3 was lost

By Sean Penney

BOSTON, MA - AUGUST 03: Ian Kinsler #5 of the Boston Red Sox winces as he walks back to to dugout in the bottom of the first inning of the game against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on August 3, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - AUGUST 03: Ian Kinsler #5 of the Boston Red Sox winces as he walks back to to dugout in the bottom of the first inning of the game against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on August 3, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 26: Ian Kinsler #5 of the Boston Red Sox is tagged out at home plate by Austin Barnes #15 of the Los Angeles Dodgers on a throw from Cody Bellinger (not pictured) #35 during the tenth inning in Game Three of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 26, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 26: Ian Kinsler #5 of the Boston Red Sox is tagged out at home plate by Austin Barnes #15 of the Los Angeles Dodgers on a throw from Cody Bellinger (not pictured) #35 during the tenth inning in Game Three of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 26, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Kinsler out at the plate

The Red Sox had a prime opportunity to end this game in the 10th inning, only for Ian Kinsler to be thrown out at home plate.

Martinez got the rally started with a one-out walk. Kinsler replaced him as a pinch-runner and was nearly picked off. A Brock Holt base hit up the middle sent Kinsler to third, although he was almost out after briefly overrunning the bag. Two moments that were dangerously close to being costly base running blunders proved to be ominous signs of foreshadowing what was to come next.

Eduardo Nunez, pinch-hitting for Rafael Devers, did exactly what the Red Sox needed in that situation with men on the corners and one out. He lofted the ball to center field – not deep but deep enough that it should have scored the runner from third on a sac fly.

Cody Bellinger made a strong, although not entirely accurate, throw from center as Kinsler raced to the plate. Catcher Austin Barnes received the throw a few feet away from the plate and tagged Kinsler on his way by for the inning-ending double-play.

Credit the Dodgers defense for making the play but what exactly was Kinsler thinking? Why didn’t he even attempt to slide? Maybe he felt he was too far away from the plate to slide to it. Fine, how about a head first dive then? Nunez would have done it. Maybe he would have been out anyway but it certainly would have given him a better chance than running into the tag.

It looked like Kinsler was bracing himself for impact but rather than try to jar the ball out of Barnes’ glove with the type of collision MLB has tried to eliminate, he pulled up at the last second to essentially give himself up.

Hard to believe but this wasn’t even Kinsler’s worst mistake of the game.

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