Luis Robert Jr. put the Boston Red Sox behind early in their Friday night game against the Chicago White Sox — he got to Cooper Criswell for a first-inning homer.
The White Sox later put the Red Sox ahead.
Bobby Dalbec walked to lead off the top of the third inning. Two batters later, Jarren Duran tapped a soft grounder in front of Garrett Crochet on the mound. The lefty fielded the ball, but his throw veered left of first baseman Andrew Vaughn. Dalbec scored from first on the error, and the speed merchant Duran ended up on third base. But the White Sox thought they saw him miss the first base bag.
Crochet threw back to first to appeal, but he threw it away again. Duran scored on the overthrow, and the Red Sox took a 2-1 lead without collecting a hit. After the run, NESN's broadcast showed replay footage of Duran missing the bag. Chicago gave up its chance to appeal, and Boston collected two unearned runs.
Sloppy White Sox defense hands Red Sox early lead, Tyler O'Neill pulled in third inning
‼️JARREN DURAN HAS STOLEN HOME‼️ pic.twitter.com/Ir8XqQDbZe
— Red Sox (@RedSox) June 8, 2024
The Red Sox's fun was cut short in the following half inning. In the middle of the frame, Alex Cora sent trainers out to right field to tend to Tyler O'Neill.
Paul De Jong lined out to O'Neill in the previous inning. The outfielder had to run to meet the liner and grimaced as he tossed the ball back to the infield. After the catch, O'Neill was limping on the same knee he was just on the injured list trying to mend.
He was placed on the 10-day IL, retroactive to May 26, with right knee inflammation. He was pulled in his second game back. NESN's broadcast showed footage of O'Neill in the dugout, rubbing his knee and clearly in pain before he went out for the third inning.
No injury is ideal, but hopefully, O'Neill is still battling inflammation and not a more severe issue with his knee. Boston's lineup is depleted, and it can't afford to lose more players.