* Text Features

The Boston Red Sox Thursday, May 6, 2021 * The Boston Globe Red Sox left all wet, going from near walkoff to extra-inning loss vs. Tigers Alex Speier They did it again, or so it seemed for an instant. A Red Sox team that has made a habit of comeback victories in the first five weeks of 2021 seemed poised to conjure another. Down two against the Tigers in the bottom of the seventh, the team knotted the score on a J.D. Martinez two-run homer, then edged towards a walk-off triumph with a ninth-inning rally. With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Xander Bogaerts drilled a liner to left-center that seemed destined to kiss the Fenway turf and allow the Red Sox to dance onto the field. Instead, left fielder Robbie Grossman fought through raindrops and the lights, falling as he corralled the final out of the inning. Minutes later, the Tigers ambushed Red Sox reliever Garrett Whitlock for a three- run 10th, just enough to withstand a furious Red Sox rally in the bottom of the inning and hold on for a 6-5 victory. Though the Red Sox continue to occupy first place in the AL East, their current stretch represents a string of missed opportunities. The team has dropped four of six to the last-place Rangers and Tigers, the latter of whom snapped a six-game losing streak on Wednesday. ”We’re not invincible,” said starter Martín Pérez. “[But] we’re going to be fine. … We’re [expletive] good.” The late drama came in contrast to most of what preceded it. The Red Sox took an early lead against Tigers starter Casey Mize — the top pick in the 2018 draft — without benefit of a hit in the second inning. Bogaerts and Christian Vázquez walked to open the frame, with Bogaerts advancing to third on a fielder’s choice and then sprinting home on a Christian Arroyo groundout. Evidently sheepish about an advantage thusly forged, the Red Sox offered the Tigers a hand in resetting the score in the top of the fourth. Jeimer Candelario’s swinging bunt turned into a leadoff single, and he advanced to second when Pérez issued a walk to desperately struggling Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera. Pérez nearly escaped, freezing the next two Tigers for called third strikes, but JaCoby Jones lined a sharp single to left with two outs. Candelario seemed content to stop at third to load the bases, but beleaguered left fielder Franchy Cordero kicked the ball, allowing Candelario to score the tying run. Two innings later, Detroit broke through to claim a lead. Candelario led off with a single and scampered to third on a one-out Niko Goodrum single, with Goodrum reaching second on the throw. With the infield drawn in, Pérez elicited a soft liner for the second out of the inning. But on a 1-2 count against Jones, Pérez’s two-seam fastball ran back over the middle of the plate, with Jones clanking a liner off the Wall in left for a two-run single and a 3-1 lead. As has been the case in the majority of his six starts this year, Pérez delivered a solid performance with little to show for it thanks in part to an unsupportive offense. He lasted 5⅔ innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six singles while walking two and striking out six — all looking. The outing was the fourth of the year in which he allowed three runs or fewer in at least five innings. Despite the solid work, however, Pérez left to a deficit as a result of the strong work of the Tigers’ 24-year- old rookie. Mize, who held the Sox hitless through three innings, allowed just one run on three hits over six frames. He walked four and struck out three, and he was denied a victory when the Tigers bullpen — possessors of a major league-worst 6.60 ERA — coughed up the lead in the seventh. Kiké Hernández lined a one-out single off lefty Daniel Norris. After a Rafael Devers groundout, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch summoned righty Bryan Garcia to face Martinez, who blasted a 2-2 fastball through the rain and into the Red Sox bullpen for a game-tying two-run homer, his 10th of the season. While Hirokazu Sawamura, Adam Ottavino, and Matt Barnes shut down the Tigers in relief — and, in the process, helped the Sox to a team record ninth straight game with at least 10 strikeouts — the 10th inning unraveled quickly on Whitlock. With a runner on second to start the frame, Jonathan Schoop twice delivered potential run-scoring hits that ran just foul. On the ninth pitch of the plate appearance, Whitlock got squeezed on a 2-2 sinker that could have been a called third strike. On the 10th, Schoop dumped a single to right to put runners on the corners. Candelario, by contrast, wasted no time in pouncing on the first pitch of the next at-bat, blasting a poorly located Whitlock fastball into the right field grandstand for a three-run homer. Whitlock, the Rule 5 pick who opened the year with 13⅓ scoreless innings, has allowed four runs and two homers in his last two appearances. ”It’s part of this. It’s part of being a big leaguer. You’re going to have good day and bad days,” said Sox manager Alex Cora. “He should be OK.” Still, down three, the Sox did not easily relent against Tigers reliever Gregory Soto. Marwin Gonzalez delivered a run-scoring single with one out, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and reached third on a Kevin Plawecki infield single. Hinch brought in Michael Fulmer, the starter who recorded just two outs on Tuesday, who promptly saw another run score when Hunter Renfroe’s grounder was misplayed into an error. But with runners on first and second and one out, Fulmer finally closed the door, getting Bobby Dalbec to line out and pumping a 97-mph fastball past Hernández for his first career save. The defeat came with an additional cost for the Sox. For the second time in 11 days, second baseman Arroyo — denied a day off and pressed into game duty when Alex Verdugo’s back tightness resulted in a late scratch — got drilled by a stray fastball on the left hand. Prior to the top of the eighth, Arroyo had to depart with a contusion (X-rays were negative), forcing a massive defensive reconfiguration that included Vázquez playing second for the fourth time in his career. Cora said Arroyo will not play Thursday, while the team is hopeful Verdugo will be available. Depending on their status, a roster move to add to the team’s bench depth by the weekend is possible. For now, however, the focus of the Sox is more immediate, as the two teams — following a game delayed 37 minutes by rain and that concluded at 11:34 p.m. — must now turn around quickly for their rubber match on Thursday. “We’re going to be OK,” said Pérez. “We just need to come back [Thursday] and hopefully [Nate Eovaldi] can throw a good game and we’re going to win the game.” Alex Verdugo’s certainly made a home for himself at Fenway Park Alex Speier Outfielder Alex Verdugo was scratched from the lineup on Wednesday afternoon, the Red Sox electing to proceed with caution on a wet night due to what the team described as tightness in his lower back. While that measured approach was understandable, it also seemed unfortunate given the remarkable fit of Verdugo in his home park. On Tuesday night, Verdugo hit a homer that virtually no other lefthanded hitter can fathom at Fenway Park. He took a 96 mph fastball on the outside corner from Tigers righty Alex Lange and drilled a liner directly down the left field line that cleared the fence. On occasion, a righthanded hitter with incredibly quick hands who catches a fastball out in front of the plate might hit that sort of homer. But lefties, who typically catch the ball deep in the zone when driving it to the opposite field — meaning less bat speed at the point of impact — almost never hit such a rocket. “You probably had to have been perfect to hit it out at that angle and at that spot,” said Sox hitting coach Tim Hyers. “You have to be on time. You gotta be perfect,” agreed manager Alex Cora. “That was eye-opening.” Verdugo continues to show a balanced offensive approach that allows him to excel in Fenway. Entering Wednesday, he was hitting .327/.371/.527 with two homers in 15 games at home this year. Those numbers resulted from an almost perfect distribution of balls hit in play to the opposite field, center, and pulled, as well as an even spread of grounders, liners, and flies. That even spread underscores Verdugo’s adaptability as a hitter. He does not simply sell out for power or shoot liners to the opposite field. He does not provide opposing pitchers with a clear path for beating him. “Whenever they shift him, he knows that there’s a lot of hits on the other side,” said Cora. “He likes hits.” With an overall .314/.379/.520 line and modest 12.9 percent strikeout rate (15th lowest among qualifying hitters), Verdugo represents one of the better pure hitters in the game. And his ability to handle all pitch types, work deep counts, and hit the ball hard to all fields has made him a catalyst in front of J.D.

Load more