All you need to know about the Red Sox' loss to the Tigers, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Whitlock in a rut: For the first month of Garrett Whitlock's major league career, everything seemed to come naturally. Armed with a mid-90s fastball, a plus changeup and more poise than you'd ever expect, he held opponents scoreless in each of first six appearances. But that streak came to an end in Texas over the weekend when he gave up a go-ahead homer in a loss to Texas, and things went downhill further Wednesday at Fenway. Whitlock took over in the 10th inning, and with the automatic runner on second, allowed a bloop single to right followed by a three-run homer to Jeimer Candelario deep into the right-field box seats. And even though the Sox rallied for two runs in the bottom of the inning, that homer spelled the difference in the game. No one expected Whitlock to be perfect, but it will be interesting to see how he deals with his first bit of failure in the big leagues. He's earned the trust of his manager and pitching coach to pitch in high-leverage spots despite his lack of experience; now, we'll see how he responds to the first bit of adversity.
Sox fail in clutch: In Casey Mize, the Sox faced an impressive young pitcher who hasn't quite put it together, but turned in one of his better outings, limiting the Sox to a single run on three hits over six innings. It happens - a good lineup is tamed by a strong pitching performance. But both before and after Mize, the Sox had their chances and failed, again and again, to take advantage of scoring opportunities. In both the second and sixth innings, they put the first two runners on base and couldn't cash in, and in the fifth, they bunched together two hits with one out and came away empty-handed. A two-run homer by J.D. Martinez tied things in the seventh, but over the final two innings, against a bullpen that is hardly accomplished, the Red Sox stranded a total of five baserunners, including four in scoring position. Even in the 10th, when sloppy play by the Tigers gifted the Sox two additional baserunners, they couldn't produce the tying -- or go-ahead -- run.
TURNING POINT
Even before the game went to extra innings, the Red Sox seemed poised to pull off a walk-off win. After two were out in the bottom of the ninth, the Sox filled the bases on a couple of walks sandwiched around a double from Rafael Devers. All the Red Sox needed was a bloop hit from Xander Bogaerts, and when Bogaerts ripped a hard, sinking liner to left, it seemed like they were going to seal their comeback. But instead, Detroit left fielder Robbie Grossman, fighting both the falling rain and the lights, managed to secure the liner as he slid to the wet turf and the game was headed to the 10th, and ultimately, to defeat for the Red Sox.
ONE UP
Marwin Gonzalez: Taking over first base duties for the night, Gonzalez made a couple of nice plays to dig out low throws and added two hits on offense.
TWO DOWN
Hunter Renfroe: The outfielder had a bad night all around, going 0-for-5 at the plate while stranding seven baserunners, and also made an ill-advised throw to third base in the sixth that allowed a Tigers baserunner to move into scoring position.
Kike Hernandez: With the potential tying run on second and the potential winning run on first base, Hernandez got a two-strike pitch right over the middle of the plate and kept the bat on his shoulder.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"It's baseball. The best thing about it is, you always get tomorrow.'' Garrett Whitlock.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- The Red Sox are now 2-2 in extra-innings this season, including 1-2 at home.
- The Sox have 11 homers in their last five games.
- J.D. Martinez has eight RBI in his last five games and leads the majors with 29 RBI for the season.
- Matt Barnes has fanned 49.2 percent of the hitters he's faced this season.