All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 4-3 loss to the Rangers, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Barnes melts down: The Red Sox led 2-1 heading into the top of the ninth, but not for long. After getting the first out of the inning, Matt Barnes gave up three straight hits, the last a two-run single to Nomar Mazara that gave the Rangers their first lead of the night. Over the last nine appearances, dating back to May 22, Barnes has allowed nine hits and seven walks in 7.1 innings for a 9.82 ERA. "I just didn't execute enough pitches,'' said Barnes. "I think command-wise, he hasn't been as sharp,'' acknowledged Alex Cora. "We've been trying to give him a breather here and there. He knows his job. He was in a situation where he was three outs away from winning the game and he didn't do the job.'' The blown save was the fourth of the year for Barnes and 10th overall for the Red Sox bullpen. The game also marked the third time this season that the Sox lost a game in which they were leading after eighth innings.
Sale given no support again: Chris Sale was his dominant self, allowing just one unearned run over seven innings. He limited the Rangers to just four hits, walked only one and fanned 10. But in a familiar storyline, the Sox didn't provide him with much backing, getting two runs in the first inning, then nothing more until the ninth. In Sale's 14 starts, the Red Sox have scored two runs or fewer in 10 of them. He's received four or more runs of support just twice. Sale hasn't allowed an earned run over his last 17 innings and has more 10-strikeout games (eight) than any other starter in the big leagues. But it's not translating to wins -- either for himself or the team -- because the Sox aren't scoring runs while he's on the mound. "You want to win every start and you want to win as many games as you can,'' said Sale. "But you just pick your head up and come back ready tomorrow.''
Familiar story at the plate: All weekend, the Red Sox had trouble producing hits with men on base and, especially, with baserunners in scoring position and now that the opponent has changed, nothing else did Monday night. The Sox were a woeful 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. "We had a chance to add on throughout the game and we didn't,'' said a frustrated Cora. "That's been the story of us for the last month. We haven't been able to put teams away offensively. We've got to do a better job.'' Of course, it didn't help that when the Sox did deliver with a man on base -- Brock Holt on first with two outs in the sixth, a pinch-hit double to right by Marco Hernandez -- there was some confusion between third base coach Andy Barkett and Holt. As Holt neared third, Barkett was waving him home, but just before he got to the bag, Barkett threw up the stop sign. Holt either didn't see him or chose to kept going, and was out by 20 feet at the plate, the final out of the inning.
TURNING POINT
Sale thought he was out of a jam in the sixth. He issued a leadoff walk to Rougned Odor, and a stolen base and throwing error by Sandy Leon landed Odor on third. Sale then struck out Jeff Mathis and Delino Deshields and had two strikes on Danny Santana. It looked like Santana had failed to check his swing on a breaking pitch in the dirt, but on appeal, first base umpire Angel Hernandez said otherwise, giving Santana another life. Santana then singled to left, scoring Odor with the Rangers first run. That loomed especially large in the ninth when the Rangers scored twice to take the lead. "Yeah, it's tough,'' admitted Sale. "But at the end of the day, I look at it like I had another opportunity to get (Santana) out and I didn't. Would you like to see it (called)? Yeah. But I'm not going to sit here and point fingers. I had another opportunity to get the guy out and I didn't execute a pitch.''
ONE UP
Marco Hernandez: Since being promoted, Hernandez has contributed to all four games. He had a pinch-hit double in the ninth and has three doubles in four games.
TWO DOWN
Rafael Devers: Devers got a day off Sunday, but it didn't help him snap him out of an 0-for-14 funk. He went 0-for-5 on the night.
Ryan Brasier: He's pitched himself out of a high-leverage role, but the Sox went to him as their fourth reliever out of the bullpen and he promptly surrendered two hits and the winning run in the top of the 11th.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"No. I just sucked tonight. Plain and simple.'' -- Matt Barnes, on whether it was an adjustment coming in for a more traditional save situation in the ninth after being used in other high-leverage spots this season.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- The Sox fell to 2-21 when scoring three runs or fewer.
- When the Sox scored two runs in the first, it marked just the 9th time in 67 games that they've scored multiple runs in the first.
- Brock Holt is hitting .406 in the 10 games since he's come back from a rehab assignment.