All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 6-3 loss to Cleveland, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Eovaldi off again: Nathan Eovaldi pitched back-to-back gems after joining the Red Sox last month, not allowing a run over his first 15 innings. Ever since, there's been a drop-off in the quality of his starts. He was tagged for eight runs in Baltimore, then allowed three runs -- though just one earned -- in five innings against Philadelphia. Tuesday night, he blanked the Indians for the first three frames before giving up two in the fourth and two more in the sixth, an inning he was unable to complete. "I felt like I had a lot of first-pitch strikes,'' said Eovaldi, "but I got hurt a lot of times when I was ahead in the count and trying to put them away. I've got to do a better job executing when I'm ahead, when I have two strikes on them.'' For whatever reason, most of the damage against Eovaldi came in the lower half of the lineup. The final four starting members of the Indians' lineup were a combined 9-for-15 with five runs scored and three RBI.
Bullpen not much help: The Sox were already trailing 3-0 when Eovaldi was lifted with two outs in the sixth inning. Joe Kelly then allowed an inherited runner to score. In the seventh, Brandon Workman, who had thrown two perfect innings two days ago, yielded a run without allowing a hit, thanks to a leadoff walk and a stolen base. Tyler Thornburg gave up a solo homer to Yan Gomes in the top of the eighth after the Sox had cut into the visitor's lead with three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Finally, although Drew Pomeranz didn't give up a run, he allowed two of the four hitters he faced to reach base. Cora noted that because the Red Sox haven't had any late-inning leads to protect over the last three days, the team hasn't been able to utilize its most trusted relievers (Matt Barnes, Ryan Brasier and Craig Kimbrel). But still, on nights when they're trying to play catch up, it's the bullpen's duty to keep the game within reach and that didn't happen Tuesday.
Offense in a slump: Baseball's No. 1 offense has cooled considerably in the last few games. After scoring four times in the first inning Saturday against Tampa Bay, the Sox scored just once more, then were shutout Sunday, and have scored just seven runs in the last two games. That translates into just eight runs in the last 35 innings, hardly indicative of what this lineup is capable of. The Sox were without a baserunner Tuesday night until Andrew Benintendi singled with one out in the fourth and had just two hits through the first six innings. In fact, in seven of their nine innings, the Sox sent the minimum number of hitters to the plate."We're not swinging the bat well right now,'' conceded Cora. "We'll come back tomorrow, look for pitches in the zone, try to hit in the air and hopefully they go out of the ballpark.''
TURNING POINT
The Red Sox finally showed some life in the bottom of the seventh, stringing together three hits, a sacrifice fly and a groundout to score three times and pull within two at 5-3. But no sooner had the Sox made a dent in Cleveland's lead than Tyler Thornburg allowed a solo homer in the top of the eighth, robbing the Sox of any momentum gained.
TWO UP
Xander Bogaerts: Bogaerts drove in the first Red Sox run of the evening with a seventh-inning double, the 37th two-base hits of the season.
Andrew Benintendi: He racked up his 43rd multi-hit game of the season with a fourth-inning single and seventh-inning double.
ONE DOWN
Mookie Betts: A rare hitless night for Betts at the plate, who was 0-for-4 with a strikeout and three routine groundouts.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"Baseball's been mighty kind to us the first couple of months. We've hit a little bit of a skid, but we're battling through it. We'll be fine.''
โ Steve Pearce, calming the masses, on the three-game losing streak.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- The Red Sox' three-game losing streak is their longest since late April/early May.
- The Sox fell to 28-29 when the opposition scores first.
- Xander Bogaerts established a career high with his 57th extra-base hit.
- Mitch Moreland had knocked in 13 runs in his last 13 games.
- Eduardo Nunez is hitting .340 at Fenway over his last 13 games.