Boston Red Sox snap four-game slide thanks to a little luck
By Brendan Howe
The Boston Red Sox were able to snap a four-game losing streak last night in Oakland, picking up a much-needed 6-3 win against the A’s.
The Red Sox didn’t lose four games in a row during the 2018 season but within the first week of the 2019 campaign, they had done just that. Last night they were able to right the ship slightly by improving to 2-5 with 4 games left on the opening road trip.
As the old saying goes, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. Well, that’s exactly what the Red Sox were last night in Oakland, picking up their second win on the young season.
Alex Cora handed the ball to Nathan Eovaldi in his second start, hoping he could redeem himself from a lackluster performance his first time out. It started off rocky, as Oakland jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning courtesy of an RBI single by Nick Hundley, and extended it to 3-0 in the fourth as Ramon Laureano went deep. Boston has seen enough of Laureano for one season, that’s for sure.
With the score knotted 3-3 in the top of the ninth inning, the luck started to kick in for Boston.
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Mookie Betts came up with two outs and would battle 42-year old Fernando Rodney to a 3-2 count, fouling off several tough pitches before finally getting a pitch he could handle. It was a rope down the third base line, and the ball ended up striking the bag and hopping up over the head of third baseman Matt Chapman, who would’ve been in perfect position to make it a close play at first had the deflection not happened. The 2-RBI double would put Boston up 5-3 and they went on to win 6-3 and take the first step towards climbing back to .500.
Let’s talk about that hit for just a minute – what if the carom hadn’t happened? What if Chapman does make the play and Betts was out? We could be sitting here this morning analyzing a 1-6 Red Sox squad, which would be the first time they’ve had such a miserable start since… do I dare say it… 2011.
Is this the kind of igniter that Betts needs to get going? That remains to be seen as well. Until that clutch piece of hitting last night, he had recorded just 2 hits in 11 at-bats in the series.
It may take Betts a while to return to the MVP form we saw in 2018, but as long as he keeps progressing and the team keeps racking up the wins, they’ll be just fine.
Next. Red Sox bats have gone silent. dark
Boston is expected to ride Eduardo Rodriguez this afternoon, who’s also looking to turn the tide for himself after a rocky start in 2019. First pitch this afternoon from the Coliseum is at 3:37p ET.