BSJ Game Report: Rays 5, Red Sox 4 (11) - Three things we learned

The Red Sox lost (again) in 11 innings (again) to the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-4 (again). Here are three things we learned.

1. Don't blame Mitch Moreland.

The Red Sox have lost back-to-back 5-4 games in 11 innings at Tropicana Field, but Mitch Moreland has done everything he can to prevent both losses. On Friday night, Moreland's first two-run homer gave them a 2-0 lead. Then, after the Sox fell behind 4-2, Moreland struck again in the top of the ninth with

another two-run shot to send the game to extra innings, when the Sox lost. It was more of the same Saturday night. In a tie game in the top of the 11th inning, Moreland hammered a solo homer to right, giving the Sox a lead. Some may argue that there's no such thing as a clutch hitter, but consider: of Moreland's 18 homers, six have been either game-tying or go-ahead homers after the seventh inning. With a better bullpen, Moreland may have been the hero on consecutive nights at Tropicana Field.

2. Jackie Bradley took a foolish risk.

Given that the Rays won the game with a two-run homer one batter later, it might not have mattered. But with the Red Sox leading by a run in the top of the 11th, leadoff hitter Travis d'Arnaud hit a sinking liner to center field. Bradley came charging in for the ball and went to the ground, trying to make a shoestring catch. Instead, he missed and the ball got behind him. Only smart positioning and hustle by left fielder Gorkys Hernandez, who was backing Bradley and raced to retrieve the ball from the warning track, kept d'Arnaud from getting a triple or perhaps even circling the bases. In that situation, Bradley's better approach would have been ensuring that the ball stayed in front of him, fielding it on a hop and conceding the single. Instead, by being overly aggressive, he allowed the Rays to put the potential tying run in scoring position to start the inning. As noted, Nate Lowe's homer probably made his decision moot -- the Rays seemed destined to win anyway. But Bradley made things easier for them.

3. Marco Hernandez had a tough night -- to say the least.

Hernandez has gotten plenty of playing time at second lately -- both because Brock Holt has been needed at other positions and because the Red Sox want to evaluate him for second base in 2020. With that in mind, Hernandez might want to burn the tape of this game and hope the Red Sox forget it. It was bad enough that Hernandez was 0-for-4 with four strikeouts at the plate. But his real struggles came in the field. In the first few innings, Hernandez failed to glove a ball that should have been fielded. It seemed as if Hernandez wasn't accounting for the speed of the ball on the artificial turf in the infield and failed to get over in time. Then, he leaped to glove a liner, only to have the ball pop out of the pocket in his glove and fall to the ground for a generously-scored base hit. Finally, on another liner, the ball grazed off his glove and rolled into right field for a run-scoring single. Everyone has off-nights occasionally, but Hernandez happened to have on in the batter's box and in the field.