All you need to know, in quickie form., about the Red Sox' loss to the Royals, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
Adding injuries to insult: As if dropping the final game of the series to a losing team wasn't bad enough, the Red Sox had two players leave the game with injuries. Catcher Kevin Plawecki appeared to strain his left hamstring while trying to track down an errant throw to the plate in the bottom of the third inning. Plawecki could be seen grabbing the back of his leg and limping around for a bit for continuing the half inning. But when his spot in the order came up in the top of the fourth, he was lifted for pinch-hitter Christian Vazquez, who played the remainder of the game. Alex Cora said the Sox would have to wait and evaluate Plawecki further Monday before making a determination of his availability going forward. Later, infielder Christian Arroyo collided with outfielder Kike Hernandez as the two converged on a flyball that dropped between them in shallow center in the fifth inning. Cora said Arroyo, who came out of the game in favor of Marwin Gonzalez, had a bone bruise beneath the patella on the right knee, but was without any structural damage.
Defense shoddy: The Red Sox have been an above-average defensive team for much of the season, but you couldn't prove it by Sunday's play. In the second inning, with two outs, Bobby Dalbec fumbled and couldn't recover a grounder in the second, resulting in a run scoring. In the third inning, following a leadoff single to Whit Merrifield, Nathan Eovaldi got a comebacker to the mound that looked like a perfect opportunity to starter a 1-6-3 double play. But Eovaldi started thinking about that before he could execute it, taking his eye off the ball for a second -- long enough for it to tip off his glove. He recovered in time to get the batter at first, but instead of having two out and nobody on, Eovaldi had one on and one out. Predictably, that came back to haunt him, as the Royals pushed across three runs in that inning, snapping a 2-2 tie and never looking back. The Royals led the rest of the way.
TURNING POINT:
The Red Sox have made a habit of late-inning comebacks, especially in the last week and it seemed like one might have been building in the eighth inning. Trailing by five, the Sox got a solo homer from Rafael Devers, then loaded the bases with one out on a single and two walks. That brought Marwin Gonzalez to the plate, representing the potential tying run at the plate, with the heart of the Boston order waiting behind him. But Gonzalez hit a sharp groundball to second baseman Hanser Alberto, starting a rally-killing, inning-ending double play for Kansas City and that was that.
ONE UP
Kike Hernandez: Removed from the leadoff spot again, Hernandez found a way to contribute offensively in the lower half, with a homer, a double and a walk in four plate appearances.
TWO DOWN
Yacksel Rios: The newly acquired veteran isn't making the best early impression for his new team. He allowed four hits and a walk while recording just one out in his relief appearance.
Xander Bogaerts: Though he had a single in the fifth inning, twice Bogaerts came up with chances to damage with baserunners on and couldn't come through, stranding three teammates.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"I thought Nate (Eovaldi) was good; I thought our defense was horrible.'' - Alex Cora.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* The loss resulted in just the third road series loss of the season.
* J.D. Martinez extended his hitting streak to 10 straight games with a triple and a single.
* Martinez's triple was the third for the team on the current road trip.
* The loss was just the 11th this season after scoring first and taking the lead.
UP NEXT: The Red Sox are off Monday before beginning a series against the Tampa Bay Rays Tuesday at 7:10 with LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (5-4, 6.21) vs.TBD.