All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 3-1 loss to the Padres, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Red Sox struggles with lefties continue: The Sox managed only four hits on the afternoon -- and one of those was a drag bunt. While San Diego lefty starter Joey Lucchesi was on the mound, the Sox got just two others hits - none until the fourth when J.D. Martinez produced a solo homer with two outs in the inning. The loss dropped the Red Sox record to 18-23 against lefties this season. Part of the problem is the team is without lefty killer Steve Pearce, who has been healthy for just 89 at-bats this season. Last year, Pearce's arrival in June helped the Sox turn around a similar problem. On Sunday, Alex Cora had Chris Owings starting at second to give the Sox another right-handed bat in the lineup, but Owings was 0-for-2 with a walk. Earlier this year, the Sox had hoped that Eduardo Nunez could be a productive bat against lefties, but he didn't produce either, and was designated for assignment.
Bullpen comes up big again: With Brian Johnson out after just three innings and 61 pitches, the Sox had to once again piece together the game. A total of four relievers -- Ryan Brasier, Andrew Cashner, Marcus Walden and Matt Barnes gave the Sox five innings of scoreless relief and allowed just one hit between them. That continued a pattern in which the team's bullpen has morphed from a liability to a strength. On Saturday night, the Sox got six innings from their relievers and yielded just two runs. In fact, in the last nine games, Red Sox relievers have provided 40.1 innings and allowed just five runs. That translates into a 1.10 ERA. And this isn't a short-term development, either. Going back to July 24, more than a month, the Red Sox have the lowest bullpen ERA of any team in the game. But on Sunday, that wasn't enough.
Defense shines again: Boston's glovework did everything it could to keep the Red Sox in the game. The team executed a perfect relay in the third inning when Ty France hit a double into the left-field corner and Eric Hosmer attempted to score all the way from first. Martinez fired the ball to shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who in turn zipped a perfect throw to the plate where Christian Vazquez slapped the tag on Hosmer for the final out of the inning, saving a run. Then, in the very next inning, San Diego shortstop Luis Urias drove a ball to the warning track in left-center. Jackie Bradley Jr. tracked it, took a look at how much room he had and bracing himself with one hand on the top of the fence, positioned himself to make a fabulous catch that robbed Urias of extra bases.
https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/1165739977575161859
TURNING POINT
In the fifth inning, trailing by two, the Sox used a bunt single from pinch-hitter Marco Hernandez and a walk by Mookie Betts to give themselves a first-and-second opportunity with two out. But Devers, who has been chasing pitches out of the zone for the past few days, hit a topspin grounder to first, ending the threat and the inning.
ONE UP
J.D. Martinez: Martinez produced the Sox' only run with a towering solo homer down the left-field line in the fourth, giving him three homers the last four games.
ONE DOWN
Rafael Devers: The third baseman had another off-day at the plate, going 0-4 to extend his hitless string to 11 straight at-bats.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"Obviously, I feel like I'm not as sharp in the first as I have been in other innings.'' — Johnson.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- The homer by Martinez extended the streak of consecutive games with a homer to 16 straight.
- Even with the loss, the Sox won their first interleague series of the season after going 0-3-1.
- Despite averaging almost six runs game in the series, the Red Sox hit just .245 as a team.