The Red Sox capped a disappointing weekend with another defeat to the lowly Chicago White Sox, 5-2, their second in the last three days. Before arriving in Boston, the White Sox had won just 10 road games all season.
Already trailing 3-2 in the ninth, Matt Barnes yielded a two-run double to Daniel Palka, giving the White Sox some additional breathing room.
Boston left 11 men on base and was just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. In both the sixth and seventh, they left the bases loaded.
The Sox managed a run in the second with Rafael Devers singling home J.D. Martinez (double). They added another in the seventh when Yoan Moncada booted a grounder by pinch-hitter Eduardo Nunez with the bases loaded.
Rick Porcello took the loss, allowing three runs -- two of them earned - over six innings. Porcello was his own worst enemy at times, walking three and hitting another batter. Of the three White Sox he walked, two were leadoff hitters in an inning and eventually came around to score
WHO: Red Sox vs. Chicago White Sox
WHEN: 1:05 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
WHAT'S UP: The teams have split the first two games of their three-game series, with the finale set for this afternoon. On Saturday, the Red Sox got a well-pitched game from David Price and a big two-run homer from J.D. Martinez for a 4-2 win. The Red Sox have won five of their last seven and eight of their last 12 as they wrap up a homestand and get set to embark on a three-city, 10-game road trip to Baltimore, Seattle and Minnesota. The White Sox, meanwhile, are concluding a seven-game road trip and headed home, having gone 3-3 to date.
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Rick Porcello (8-2, 3.59) vs. RHP Reynaldo Lopez (1-4, 3.42).
TV/RADIO: NESN/MLB Network; WEEI 93.7 FM
LINEUPS
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS
3:00 That's about the longest and hardest-hit single you'll see at Fenway. Mitch Moreland drove a 2-and-0 pitch off the center field wall, and Thompson had the ball rebound right into his hand, forcing Moreland back to first after a wide turn.
2:54 Nice hustle by White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, who scores all the way from second on a groundout to the right side. Porcello took the feed from first baseman Mitch Moreland, then got tangled up with baserunner Trayce Thompson, rolled into first base umpire Quinn Wolcott and couldn't get the throw to the plate in time.
2:24 Porcello has his first 1-2-3 innings, needing just nine pitches to get through the fourth. That's big, since he had struggled through the first three innings with a lot of traffic on the bases and ran his pitch count up to 64 pitches.
1:56 There are challenges to the shift and having players in positions they're not familiar with. But still, Rafael Devers, shifted toward the shortstop hole, needs to catch that throw from Brock Holt for the force at second. Instead, he mishandles it and the ball gets away for an error.
1:43 Opportunistic steal for Devers, who takes third on pitcher Reynaldo Lopez.
1:41 Better at-bats of late from Devers. Stayed on a changeup and drove it into center, scoring Martinez from second and tying the game.
1:38 Your basic J.D. Martinez at-bat -- fighting off a pitch and driving it to right, hopping into the seats for a ground-rule double. Feels like he's done that about 20 times this season.
RED SOX
Benintendi LF
Bogaerts SS
Moreland 1B
Martinez DH
Devers 3B
Holt 2B
Bradley CF
Swihart RF
Leon C
WHITE SOX
Moncada 2B
Sanchez 3B
Abreu DH
Palka RF
Davidson 1B
Narvaez C
Anderson SS
Tilson LF
Thompson CF
NEWS AND NOTES:
- Mookie Betts took batting practice Sunday morning and reported some progress as he attempts to come back from a strained left abdomen. "It was good today,'' said Alex Cora. "He still has stuff to do. He's going to go through his whole routine. He's going to hit off the machine during the game and we'll see how he reacts to it. But it seems like he's moving well and there were some pitches he got to that he wouldn't have gotten to a week ago. We'll know more after the game.''
- Dustin Pedroia still is dealing with inflammation in his surgically-repaired left knee. He'll travel with the team on the upcoming road trip, but still hasn't been able to partake in much in the way of baseball activities. "It's been a slow process,'' said Cora. "He's feeling better, not as much pain as a week ago. But he's still feeling it.'' Pedroia hit a little earlier in the week, but has yet to take ground balls. "He's doing some stuff in the weight room,'' said Cora, "but beside that, hasn't done much.''