At this point, who can we trust outside the rotation?
Rain, rain, go away, the Red Sox lose another day. The pattern lives on repeat. The offense kicks things off strong and starting pitching carries the team so far, then past the 6th, anything goes and you don’t know if this squad can close things out. Another series loss—this time to the Twins—another comeback defeat, their third in six games. It’s hard to understand the management of this team right now.
Three Studs
Wilyer Abreu (3-for-4, 2 runs, 1 RBI)
Amidst a cooling down from his hot April, this game was due for Wilyer. His only out was a deep flyout to right field in the 6th inning and lo and behold, he takes advantage in the 8th for a jack.
Carlos Narváez (1-for-4, 2 RBI)
Taking advantage of RISP, who knew this team had it in em! Narváez has well earned backup catching duties.
Ceddanne Rafaela (2-for-4)
Hey, you gotta set the table even if you don’t come home and Ceddanne certainly did that. His legged-out infield single in the 9th could have been a spark!
Honorable mention goes to Garrett Crochet though with not a deep outing, but a spectacular recovery from a lead-off solo shot.
Three Duds
Justin Slaten (1.0 IP, L, 3 H, 2 ER)
Garrett Whitlock (2.0 IP, BS, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K)
I’ll combine the write-up for these guys. Neither could really stop the bleeeding when the going got tough. It’s so crappy seeing this happen after Crochet does enough to keep this Sox team in it during a low-offense affair.
Alex Cora
Going to Justin Slaten when he just had a rough game in Toronto wasn’t a great call when Liam Hendriks then came in and had a perfect ninth inning. Leaving Whit in for 2 innings and yanking Crochet after just 5—even if the impetus was conserving pitch count—wasn’t the right call. Pinch hitting Abraham Toro when my entire section was calling for Trevor Story to come in was a strange, strange move. Not his day to manage well.
Play of the Game
Let’s hear it for the Marcia Brady moment with Garrett Crochet’s nose combining for an out in the 4th!
