The Boston Red Sox's game against the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 8 was meant to be more positive. Even as Boston failed to complete the sweep and maintain its Wild Card hopes, two of its young hurlers thrived.
Richard Fitts made his MLB debut on Sunday afternoon and posted a fantastic outing. The 24-year-old, acquired from the Yankees as part of the Alex Verdugo trade, logged 5.2, six-hit innings with two strikeouts and a walk.
Chicago mustered two runs during Fitts' appearance, but they were both unearned. A fielding error by Triston Casas allowed the righty to escape his debut unscathed. The error didn't help the Red Sox as their wild card aspirations continued to dissolve in front of them, but they weren't the reason they lost.
Boston's offense only collected two runs and it fanned nine times. Fitts' debut was a gift for the Red Sox, and they couldn't take advantage. Wilyer Abreu tied the game at two with a homer in the sixth inning, and both teams' bats went dead until the ninth inning. Only Chicago's came back to life.
Alex Cora turned to Zack Kelly for the ninth inning of the deadlock, which was the wrong choice. Kelly surrendered a leadoff hit and logged a strikeout before things went off the rails. Another single and a double followed and the White Sox claimed a lead. The Red Sox intentionally walked Gavin Sheets to attempt a double play. The intentional walk backfired — a hit and an error later, Sheets and two other White Sox scored to take an insurmountable 7-2 lead.
The Red Sox spoiled Richard Fitts and Luis Guerrero's debuts in loss to White Sox
First big league K for Fitts! 👏 pic.twitter.com/mKQ6r8lHVu
— Red Sox (@RedSox) September 8, 2024
Then, Cora turned to Luis Guerrero, another top pitching prospect, to get his team out of the inning. He did so quickly.
Guerrero, a 24-year-old who grew up in Boston, induced a sacrifice fly and another flyout to get his team out of the jam. The run that scored on the sacrifice was charged to Kelly, and Guerrero escaped his big league debut in two-thirds of an inning with no runs charged to his name.
The Red Sox's third loss of the season against the White Sox was an ugly one. Boston was in the game until the end when the bullpen cost it yet another crucial win — as every win for the rest of the campaign will be. The Red Sox's series against the worst team in MLB could've been a gift, and their top pitching prospects tried to make it work, to no avail.
The Tigers and Mariners have overtaken Boston in the Wild Card standings, and its season may be past the point of rescue. The Red Sox have a tough week ahead with series against the Orioles and Yankees in their way of a playoff berth. The Sox have posted a surprisingly good record against the Yankees this year, but if they get swept by Baltimore, as they have a few times, their playoff dreams could be over before they reach the Bronx.
Based on Fitts and Guerrero's debuts, the future of the Red Sox looks better than the present.