And a spectacular catch is once again marred by a one-run loss.
Nobody wants to hear about how “great of a game” it was when their team loses, especially the loss secures a series sweep and moves the Red Sox under .500. But Wednesday’s battle against reigning Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal was one of the best games in MLB all season. The lasting highlight will be what Walker Buehler described as “the ole alley-oop robbery.” A 9-8 putout in the scorebook, with Wilyer Abreu bringing back a potential Kerry Carpenter home run and Ceddanne Rafaela catching the rebound. (Chris Cotillo, Mass Live)
The Red Sox are now 4-12 in one-run games. Rob Bradford tries to understand why a team with a plus-18 run differential has a losing record. (Rob Bradford, WEEI)
After Tuesday night’s game, Tanner Houck said, “Physically, I feel good. I just need to better” On Wednesday, the team decided to go the Al Czervik in Caddyshack route. “Oh my arm, it’s broken!”
Houck has a “flexor pronator strain” and will go on the 15-day IL and then, presumably, the longest rehab assignment possible to get right at Triple-A. (ESPN)
A small poll of former Red Sox players who transitioned to first base gave varying responses. While one former player believes it would take “two days” to learn to play the position as a starting point, the consensus is that it would take much longer to learn the nuances to play the position well. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
In his weekly appearance on WEEI, Alex Cora didn’t want to talk about the players in Triple-A who aren’t up with the team yet. “Obviously, there’s a lot of talk about what some of the guys are doing in the minor leagues, right? And obviously they’re really good at what they do. But we have some good players here, and they’re doing their job. I think defense can improve. And obviously the pitching part of it, especially when we have the lead late in games.” (Tom Carroll, WEEI)