All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 8-7 loss to the White Sox, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Barnes gives it up: For the second time in the last five games and sixth time this season, Matt Barnes was charged with a blown save Wednesday afternoon. Barnes came into the game after the Sox had rallied with three runs in the bottom of the eighth to take their first lead of the afternoon. But he gave up two singles -- the first of which was erased on a caught-stealing, and in a 10-pitch epic battle with Jose Abreu, allowed a towering two-run homer which cost the Sox the game. Asked how much this one stung, Barnes didn't dodge the question. "A lot...a lot,'' said Barnes. "To give it up like that is tough.'' Barnes was a double-play ball away from getting out of the inning with Abreu at the plate, but ultimately mislocated with a fastball. "You've got to continue to execute pitches,'' said Barnes. "In the entire at-bat, the only mistake I made was the one he hit. It's unfortunate. I executed damn near every single pitch that I wanted to him and the one that didn't get there, he hit a home run.'' The Sox have now blown 16 saves this season and lost four games in which they were leading after eight innings.
Sale struggles early again: In his last start, Friday against Toronto, Chris Sale needed 36 pitches to get through the first inning and allowed two runs. On Wednesday, it was more of the same -- again, he needed 36 pitches before getting out of the inning, while allowing three runs this time. Later, Sale settled down and retired the last 10 hitters he faced, but by then, his pitch count had already been inflated by his early struggles. "I've got to find a way to get out of the gate better,'' he said. "The last couple of times out, early in the game, I've just put us in a hole and I've got to find a way to get out of that. I've got to get into a groove, get comfortable out there and put it all together. It's gotten out of hand. I can't put our guys in the hole early on.'' The last two times, teams have sat on his slider and done damage with it. Sale then shifted to more fastball use after that and gave up only two runs over his final five innings.
Devers may earn promotion: With Andrew Benintendi sidelined the last two days, Rafael Devers got slotted into the No. 2 spot in the lineup and responded with a four-hit game (with three doubles) Tuesday night and three more hits (including another double) Wednesday afternoon. In all, he was 7-for-9 with four doubles. That caught Alex Cora's eye, who acknowledged Devers might remain there for a while, even with Benintendi due to return to the starting lineup Saturday in London. "I like his at-bats,'' said Cora. "He was under control, too. IT seems for a while, he was swinging at everything but now he's back to controlling the zone and putting up good swing and going the other way. We might go that route.''
TURNING POINT: As often happens, the Sox failed to add on offensively and it came back to bite them. In the seventh, when they managed a run, they had runners on the corners and two outs before Michael Chavis flied out to right for the final out, stranding two baserunners, including one ninety feet from the plate.
ONE UP:
J.D. Martinez: Martinez belted a two-run homer in the first to get the Red Sox on the scoreboard, then hit a double to right in the seventh to deliver another run.
TWO DOWN:
Mookie Betts: Another empty day at the plate for Betts who was hitless in four at-bats with a strikeout. His batting average is down to .263.
Marcus Walden: His outing wasn't nearly as disastrous as the one weathered by Barnes, but he gave up a run after Sale had retired the previous 10 in a row and handed the White Sox some momentum.
QUOTE OF NOTE:
"I didn't do my job. The offense did a phenomenal job of coming back and scoring three in the eighth and then to give it up like that is tough.'' Matt Barnes.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- The loss was the ninth in series finales for the Sox.
- In all seven games against the White Sox this year, Red Sox pitchers had 10 or more strikeouts.
- Ten of J.D. Martinez's last 19 hits have gone for extra bases.
- Devers became the first Red Sox hitter this season to collect six hits in a row -- four Tuesday night and two Wednesday afternoon.