Red Sox Rundown: The good, bad and ugly in 5-4 loss vs O’s
By Zachary McMahon
The Boston Red Sox lost the series opener against the Baltimore Orioles 5-4 at Camden Yards on on Monday night.
The Red Sox are coming off a series win against the Milwaukee Brewers which features Matasaka Yoshida’s two home runs in the 8th inning in Sunday’s win.
Catcher Reese McGwire was available to backup Connor Wong on Monday after suffering a hand injury off a foul tip in Saturday’s 5-4 loss to the Brewers. Shortstop Yu Chang suffered a wrist injury while batting in the 7th and Christian Arroyo had to finish the at-bat for him and the strikeout was charged to Chang. Kike Hernandez, who started at second base switched to shortstop and Arroyo played at second base.
The Good: Red Sox had flashes of good hitting
Triston Casas and Rafael Devers both hit it out of the park for the Sox in the 2nd and 3rd innings respectively. With the home run in the 3rd, Devers is leading the AL in home runs with his 9th of the season. Casas hit it for 426 feet and it was a beauty towards center right field into the crowd at Camden Yards.
Meanwhile, Yoshida reached base all four times he was at the plate, where he hit three singles and walked in the 9th before being replaced by Raimel Tapia as a pinch runner. He has now reached base in his last six at-bats, which include the two homers in the 8th on Sunday.
That's an AL-leading 9th HR! pic.twitter.com/wkvK8hQQJu
— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 24, 2023
Also, Justin Turner hit a five-game hitting streak with a single in the 6th where he is 7-18 in that span.
The Bad: The Red Sox had some bad luck at baserunning
The Red Sox had been caught stealing for the first time this season when Connor Wong tried to swipe second base in the 7th inning.
Also, Designated hitter Justin Turner was a bit too aggressive on the base paths as he tried to advance to third base on the single by Yoshida in the 6th but a good arm by Orioles left fielder Austin Hays to Ramon Urias at third base and Turner got caught, while Yoshida advanced to second base on the throw.
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I think these baserunning mistakes help cost the Sox the game as Turner would’ve still been a runner in scoring position and Turner may have had a chance to tie the game as Hernandez flied out to right and Casas hit into a double play, but it wouldn’t have been the third out.
The Ugly: Chris Sale helped the Sox choke a 4-0 lead
The Sox had a 4-0 lead entering the bottom of the third inning but the damage started when Orioles second baseman Adam Frazier hit an RBI single in the 3rd that brought home Center fielder Cedric Mullins who hit a double earlier in the inning.
In the 4th inning, Sale allowed three runs and that allowed the Orioles to tie the game at 4 and then in the 5th Austin Hays hit an RBI single to bring home shortstop Jorge Mateo for the go-ahead run. There was no scoring for both teams since that hit and the Red Sox would ultimately lose the game.
Next. Rafael Devers showing he’s ‘one of the best hitters’ in MLB. dark
Sale was promptly relieved in the 6th inning by Ryan Brazier and Brennan Bernadino who was claimed off waivers from the Seattle Mariners and was called up from Worcester while bringing down starter Bryan Bello to make room.
The Red Sox will look to bounce back to win the series as they will be in Baltimore until Wednesday.