3 Red Sox players to blame for being swept by the Angels

3) Boston Red Sox player to blame for being swept: Kutter Crawford

It pains me to do this because Kutter Crawford had been so good leading up to this game, but Kutter Crawford deserves some blame for the Red Sox losing this series.

It's very hard to win when you only score one run, I completely get that, but Crawford had been turning into a guy Alex Cora could really trust. He got roughed up in his first start of the season, but since then, he had pitched to a 1.25 ERA in his six appearances and 21.2 innings of work. This situation was a bit higher leverage than Crawford was used to, but you still felt like he'd get the job done.

Crawford even got the job done in a game against the Angels in Boston earlier this season. He didn't win them the game, but his performance in relief helped save the bullpen.

Tanner Houck had pitched brilliantly in the series opener, allowing one run in six innings of work. Crawford game on for the bottom of the seventh and after giving up a leadoff double, retired the next three batters in order to keep the game tied at one.

The eighth inning came, and new Red Sox killer Mickey Moniak struck. He launched a solo home run to give the Angels a 2-1 lead. This wound up being the final score with Crawford being the losing pitcher.

Is it completely fair to blame Crawford for this? Probably not, but he also had a very clear responsibility to keep the game tied. If Mike Trout or Shohei Ohtani did this to him I might've been more lenient but Mickey Moniak? Really? Hopefully the upcoming day off allows this team to regroup. They need it.

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