Red Sox falter behind sloppy defense from star infielders

A pair of errors doomed the Boston Red Sox in their latest loss

The lack of offensive production will grab most of the attention in the wake of Tuesday’s loss to the Cincinnati Reds. That’s warranted when the Boston Red Sox managed only four hits and didn’t squeeze out their only run until a desperate 9th inning rally that ultimately fell short. Boston’s bats wasted an excellent opportunity to steal a victory but it was their defense that put the team in that position to begin with.

We certainly can’t pin the blame on the pitching staff. Michael Wacha delivered his best performance in weeks over 5 2/3 innings and the bullpen did a solid job in relief. The staff combined to allow two runs, neither of which were earned.

It’s those unearned runs that will haunt them.

The first miscue came with two outs in the sixth inning of a scoreless game. Nick Senzel hit a grounder to third base that was charged by Rafael Devers, whose throw went wide to skip into the camera well on the first base line. The error allowed a runner to score from second to put the Reds on the board, ending the night for Wacha.

It was a routine play that Devers botched by rushing the throw. He didn’t take the time to set his feet and made an off-balance throw that was out of the reach of first baseman Franchy Cordero. This is the type of mental mistake that has become far too common throughout his career.

Cincinnati doubled their lead with two outs in the ninth inning. Xander Bogaerts made a great diving play on a sharp grounder off the bat of Matt Reynolds. Bogaerts jumped to his feet to deliver the ball to first base but the throw bounced past Cordero, allowing the runner on second to score.

It would have been a highlight-worthy web gem if Bogaerts had managed to throw the runner out, but even a perfect throw might not have been in time. That’s one he probably should have stuck in his back pocket. An infield single at least holds the runner at third base. Jake Diekman got the next batter to pop out to end the inning, so the Red Sox could have escaped without any damage if it weren’t for the error, even if Reynolds were still safe at first.

Could Cordero have picked either of the poor throws to prevent the costly errors? That would have been a tough task for a Gold Glove caliber first baseman, let alone one as inexperienced at the position as Cordero. The blame falls on the shoulders of the two stars manning the left side of the infield.

Devers and Bogaerts are now tied for 12th among all major league position players with six errors this season. Devers is no stranger to this list, having led his position in errors in each of the last four seasons. His errors tend to come in bunches and he’s recorded four of them in his last eight games.

Bogaerts is typically a bit more sure-handed but he’s currently on pace to exceed his career-high of 17 errors set in 2017 and his .964 fielding percentage would be the worst of his career as a shortstop. Granted, one reason that he’s been able to limit his errors is due to a lack of range preventing him from getting to many balls hit his way. Bogaerts routinely ranks among the worst shortstops in many defensive metrics, including defensive runs saved where he has produced -58 over 10 seasons at shortstop. His -3 DRS this season places him in the bottom-10 shortstops in the majors.

Infield defense has been a weakness for the Red Sox over the last several years. That’s a price they are willing to accept to build around their two star players. Devers and Bogaerts typically provide more than enough production at the plate to offset their defensive issues, but it’s still difficult to field two liabilities on the same side of the infield. They are both capable of winning games for the Red Sox with their bats but this is one example where they lost it with their gloves.