All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 5-4 loss to the Rockies, complete with BSJ analysis and insight...
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Sale makes history: In Red Sox history, only four pitchers have ever recorded games with 17 or more strikeouts and now Chris Sale is one of them, joining Bill Monbouquette (1961), Pedro Martinez (1999, 2000) and Roger Clemens, who twice fanned 20 -- once in 1986 and again in 1996. And like Clemens in his two record-setters, Sale racked up his huge whiff totals without issuing so much as a single walk. It was evident that Sale was on from the very beginning, as he struck out the side in the first and second, and had fanned eight through the first three innings. It wasn't until the sixth that the Rockies had their first baserunner -- a leadoff double by Mark Reynolds. In his last three starts, Sale has struck out 41 hitters and walked just one, an incredible ratio. And after striking out just 14 in his first four starts, he's since struck out 59 in his last five. He became just the second pitcher with 14 or more strikeouts and no walks in consecutive games, matching Dwight Gooden (1984). But at the end of the night, the start was the 16th time that a pitcher struck out 17 or more hitters and took either a loss or a no-decision.
Bullpen has a rough night: The Red Sox owned a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning when Brandon Workman entered the game in relief of Sale. He got the first hitter, but allowed a one-out double to Chris Iannetta and one out later, a two-run homer to Charlie Blackmon. It was the first hit by a lefty against him this season; they had been 0-for-20 before that homer. After Matt Barnes threw two perfect innings, striking out five of the six hitters he faced, Ryan Brasier entered for the 11th and immediately got into trouble by walking the leadoff man, Ryan McMahon. After a flyout and a forceout thanks to a diving play by Xander Bogaerts, Brasier was an out away from getting out of the inning. Instead, he issued a walk and then a run-scoring single by Mark Reynolds. It was the fifth blown save of the season for the Red Sox bullpen. The two walks in the 11th by Brasier matched his season total before Tuesday night.
Homers build a lead: The Red Sox used the long ball to stake Sale to a 3-0 lead in the first three innings. First, Michael Chavis hit his seventh homer of the year in the second. Then, in the third, J.D. Martinez hit his third homer in the last two games, and one out later, Rafael Devers hit his third. That gave the Red Sox 27 homers in the last 13 games and they've hit multiple homers in each of the last six games, the team's longest streak since 2016. But the homers were part of all-or-nothing approach by the lineup. The Sox had just six other hits all night and scored only one more run from the third inning through the 11th. Andrew Benintendi and Mookie Betts, the top two hitters in the order, combined to go 0-for-11 with six strikeouts.
https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/1128454042018025472
TURNING POINT
With two out and an 0-2 count on Reynolds in the top of the 11th, Brasier was a strike away from getting out of a first-and-second jam. Instead, Reynolds managed to line the ball into center field to score what turned out to be the winning run.
https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1128500464411205636
TWO UP
Michael Chavis: Fully past his 0-for-19 slump from earlier, Chavis hammered his seventh homer in the second and added a single in the eighth. He's got 20 RBI in 21 games.
Mitch Moreland: Moreland came off the bench to deliver a game-tying, pinch-hit single, giving him 12 RBI this season that have either tied the game or put the Red Sox ahead.
TWO DOWN
Brandon Workman: Workman came into the game having not allowed a hit to the previous 40 batters he faced, but after getting the leadoff man, allowed a double and a two-run homer to the next three.
https://twitter.com/Rockies/status/1128473192786382849
Andrew Benintendi: The Red Sox' leadoff hitter was 0-for-6 with four strikeouts.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"It sucks, honestly. It sucks, because of the way he pitched. But it is what it is.'' Alex Cora on the team wasting Chris Sale's 17-strikeout performance.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- The loss was the first for the Red Sox in extra innings this year.
- The 24 strikeouts by the Red Sox tied a franchise record. They also fanned 24 Sept. 15, 2017 at Tampa Bay.
- Rafael Devers has eight RBI in his last four games.
- Matt Barnes has struck out 33 of the 66 batters he's faced this year.