All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 12-8 loss to the Yankees, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Bullpen atrocious again: It would seem impossible for the Red Sox bullpen to have a worse game Sunday than the one they experienced Saturday, when they allowed 11 runs. But they have the ability to surprise you, and so it was that they were actually worse. True, they gave up "only" 10 runs on Sunday, one fewer than the first game of the series, but remember, they also were called on for just 3.2 innings Sunday, as opposed to the 8.2 innings required of the relievers Saturday. The trio of Marcus Walden, Matt Barnes and Josh Taylor all pitched in the eighth inning and combined to allow nine runs. And Alex Cora wasn't letting anyone off the hook for the heavy workload of late. "It's the nature of the 162 games and the games that we play','' he said. "Some of it is execution. Some of it is details.'' Of the six pitchers who trotted in from the bullpen Sunday, only two -- Colten Brewer in the sixth and Steven Wright in the ninth -- were successful in keeping the Yankees off the scoreboard.
ERod not to blame: It seems like every start that Eduardo Rodriguez has made over the last six weeks has come on the heels of a short start in the previous game, leading the Sox to ask the lefty to go deep in games. Most of the time, Rodriguez has responded to the challenge. On Sunday, the Sox were hoping for six innings and Rodriguez came within two outs of giving them that. He struck out Didi Gregorius for the first out in the sixth, but that brought his pitch count for the game to 116, and that was enough for the Sox. In his previous three starts, he had pitched into the seventh and nearly made it through the sixth on Sunday. What limited Rodriguez was a 37-pitch second inning that sent his pitch count soaring and ultimately cost him the opportunity to get through six. Still, he left with the bases empty and a two-run lead and deserved a better fate.
Cora hints at pitch-tipping and sign-stealing: In his postgame remarks at the podium in London, Cora went out of his way to cite the importance of close friend Carlos Beltran for the Yankees success. Like Cora himself, Beltran is known to be adept at noticing small things on the field, and all but said Beltran was responsible for picking those things up from the dugout. Cora wasn't complaining, but rather, complimenting his friend for his work. "People pay attention, too,'' said Cora, "and they take advantage of the situation. I feel that the last two days, they did an outstanding job doing everything right. ...We're doing everything (wrong) — we tipped pitches, sequences, we did everything (wrong). I know Carlos. He pays attention. That was a great addition to their staff over there.''
TURNING POINT
It's possible to pick any at-bat in the endless seventh inning, when the Yankees scored nine runs to take the lead for good. But let's focus on the walk to Edwin Encarnacion by Matt Barnes. Barnes took over for Marcus Walden and three runs were already across the plate. But the walk to Encarnacion seemed to set the tone for the rest of the inning as six more runs -- and yet another Red Sox reliever called in -- would eventually happen.
ONE UP
Christian Vazquez: Vazquez was part of the first-inning homer parade, then added a two-run single in the eighth for a three-RBI afternoon.
TWO DOWN
Michael Chavis: Chavis had a big day yesterday with two homers and six RBI, but Sunday was a struggle -- both at the plate (0-for-5, three strikeouts) and in the field, where he made two errors.
Marcus Walden: The bullpen was bad, but Walden had the roughest appearance of all the relievers, failing to record an out in the seventh while being charged with four runs on three hits and a walk.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"It wasn't a good weekend. ... It was eye-opening. Right now, they're a lot better than us.'' Alex Cora.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:
- The Red Sox averaged 10.5 runs in the two games -- and still lost both games by four runs.
- For the two games, the Sox bullpen allowed 21 runs.
- For just the sixth time in franchise history, the Red Sox hit three homers in the first inning.
- After not making any errors in the series opener, the Sox committed two -- both by Michael Chavis.