Sloppy defense sinks Red Sox in loss to Houston Astros
A poor defensive effort from the Boston Red Sox that included three errors led to their downfall against the Houston Astros Friday night.
The Boston Red Sox were their own worst enemy in a 4-3 loss to the Houston Astros. A game they expected to win with ace Chris Sale on the mound went off the rails behind a dismal defensive display.
All four of Houston’s runs crossed the plate against Sale yet only two were earned. Boston committed three errors in the game, two of which led directly to runs for the Astros.
A throwing error by first baseman Steve Pearce allowed Aledmys Diaz to score from second base for the first run of game. Sandy Leon made a valiant effort to cut him off at the plate and was initially rewarded with an out call, only for the decision to be overturned on replay.
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A better throw by Pearce would have ended the inning before any damage was done. Speaking of poor throws, Diaz wouldn’t have been in scoring position to begin with if it weren’t for a wild pitch by Sale.
Xander Bogaerts was guilty of committing two errors, the second of which proved costly. Jake Marisnick grounded into what should have been an inning-ending fielder’s choice. Instead, Bogaerts threw it away, allowing Robinson Chirinos to score. If that weren’t bad enough, the error allowed Josh Reddick to race from first to third, putting him in position to score on a sac fly that put Houston ahead 4-0.
“You have to play clean against them,” Cora said on NESN’s postgame coverage. “They do more than hitting. They run the bases well. They’re very athletic. Like I said, it was a weird one. If we play better defense, we have a chance.”
The manager is correct. The Red Sox should have – would have – won if they played better defense. Two unearned runs, and you can make a case it should have been three, is inexcusable in a pivotal series against an American League contender.
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Boston’s bats battled back with a rally that came up just short. Jackie Bradley Jr. took Ryan Pressly deep for the first run the Astros setup man has surrendered this season. Christian Vazquez hit a pinch-hit home run in the ninth against Roberto Osuna, the second earned run and first homer given up by the Astros closer.
Houston’s late inning bullpen duo is as good as there has been in the league. Tagging each of them for a run is a rarity that should have left an encouraging impression on this game, except that effort was wasted by the sloppy defense that put them in too deep of a hole to climb out of.
The Red Sox have committed 31 errors this season and own a .984 fielding percentage, both of which are only slightly worse than league average. Defense hasn’t been a significant issue for this team but they certainly weren’t at their best in Houston.
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Boston will attempt to even the series with David Price on the mound against Brad Peacock. The pitching advantage would seem to lean toward the Red Sox, although we thought that last night. Beating this Houston team will require the Red Sox to show up in every facet of the game. That means playing solid defense. They don’t necessarily need to make highlight worthy plays. Just don’t botch the routine ones.