Giants 7, Red Sox 6 (15) - Three things we learned from a long night at Fenway

A long (5:54 in time, 15 in innings) night ended poorly for the Red Sox in a 7-6 loss to the San Francisco Giants.

Here are three takeaways:

1. This game managed to symbolize a lot of what went wrong for the Red Sox in the 2019 season

Over the course of nearly six hours, for a game with very little meaning for either team, a manager has plenty of time to think. And what Alex Cora mostly thought was that he had seen a lot of this before. As in all year long. "If you can (encapsulate) our season in six hours, it's right there, honestly'' said Cora. "Close games ... we didn't hit with men in scoring position. We didn't pitch well in the beginning, but then we pitched well. We played good defense, but then we didn't. Using the bullpen, knowing that we have a bullpen game tomorrow. ... Honestly, if you want to put everything in six hours, it's right there. That's how it felt.'' Cora has a point. The Sox got eight consecutive scoreless innings from their bullpen, but then gave up two runs in the span of the final three innings. They stranded 17 runners for the game and were just 4-for-15 with runners in scoring position. They got a poor start from Nathan Eovaldi, which symbolizes the biggest issue with the team since the beginning of the season. It was all there. But like the season itself, it took a very long time to unfold.

2. Eovaldi not ending on a high note.

Nathan Eovaldi was belted around for five runs on seven hits in just four innings and it seems obvious there isn't going to be a strong finish from in the closing weeks to take some momentum into the post-season. He continued to be inefficient on the mound, needing 86 pitches to record just 12 outs and he struggled with his command, issuing three walks, two of which led directly to runs scoring. But mostly, he gave up hard contact. "A lot of pitches in the middle of the zone,'' said Cora. "I do feel there were a lot of hits (on pitches) down in the zone. This guy with his stuff, we need him, we have to get him to pitch up in the zone again. He can get some swings and misses up there and weak contact and from there, we can get expand down in the zone with the breaking ball and the split. When he's dominating, he's up. So we have to do that. If you pitch on that plane, the guys are going to catch up to it.'' Eovaldi saw things differently, saying that he needs to throw his splitter more -- a pitch down on the zone -- to off-set his fastball. "I feel like I was throwing the ball up in the zone a lot today,'' he said. "I just have to do a better job mixing off the high fastball and my splitter works well for that.''

3. Red Sox injuries piling up.

The Sox were without Mookie Betts (left foot inflammation) for a third straight game and he likely won't return until Friday, and then, only as the DH. Then, the list grew during the game. J.D. Martinez came out of the game with tightness in his left groin after two at-bats and likely won't play Wednesday. Then, the man who replaced him in the lineup as the Red Sox DH, Sam Travis, delivered a leadoff triple in the sixth, but on his way between second and third base, his helmet came flying off. And as he slid head-first into third, wouldn't you know it, he was hit in the back of the head by the relay throw from a Giants' infielder. Travis laid motionless for a minute or so, his head down on the bag and for a moment, it seemed he has lost consciousness. But with the training staff attending to him, he got up and was able to walk off the field under his own power. He was placed in concussion protocol and will be re-evaluated Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Sox met with David Price (wrist cyst) shortly before the game and though it's not official, Cora said postgame that the Sox are "leaning toward'' shutting him down for the remainder of the season.