It should have been routine. But then, this being 2022, and these being the Red Sox, it was not.
Because there's no such thing as a routine closeout to a game.
The Red Sox led, seemingly comfortably, 6-1 against the St. Louis Cardinals as the ninth inning got underway, and everything had gone swimmingly. The Red Sox got a solid start from Michael Wacha, some well-timed hits along the way -- a problem in Thursday's loss when they were a woeful 1-for-14 with RISP -- and some fine defense, especially from Trevor Story.
They needed only to lock down the final three outs to post a victory in the first game of the interleague series.
It began well enough, with Austin Davis recording two quick outs. But the third out proved elusive.
Davis next gave up two hits, then hit a batter. That prompted Alex Cora to summon Tanner Houck, who in recent weeks has evolved into the team's closer, even if, oddly, no one wants to use that word.
Houck has been good in the role, but Friday proved to be a struggle. He allowed consecutive run-scoring doubles, as the Cards pulled within a run and had the potential tying run in scoring position, and suddenly, the whole inning was anything but routine. Worse, Houck next had to face Paul Goldschmidt, for whom a convincing case could be made as National League MVP to date. On deck waited Nolan Arenado, every bit as dangerous.
Finally, as Houck fed Goldschmidt a diet of mostly sliders, he went back to his two-seamer and caught the St. Louis first baseman flatfooted with a called strike three.
All's well that ends well? Not quite.
Yes, Houck got the save, and ultimately, the Red Sox got the win, which is, in the end, all that matters. A victory is a victory, no matter how anxiety-producing it was in the final inning.
But here's a stat to think about: Houck's save was his third, and the team's 13th on the season. Only three teams -- Seattle, Kansas City and Washington β have fewer this season.
In some ways, saves aren't always a good measure of a team's bullpen effectiveness. The Red Sox have been blowing teams out frequently enough that sometimes they go several days, or even almost a week, without a save opportunity.
However, the Sox actually have more blown saves (14) than they do saves.
It's not quite accurate to suggest that the team is more likely to cough up a lead than secure one, since it's possible to have more than one blown save per game.
But surely, it's not an encouraging sign that the team has more blown saves than saves themselves. Forget advanced metrics -- that's troubling no matter how you slice it.
Here's another that is far from encouraging: as a staff, the Red Sox' ninth inning ERA is 4.58, 26th out of 30 teams in the game.
The Red Sox can play with the semantics all they'd like. They can say that titles and roles aren't important, and they can run from the "closer'' word like it's poison. But when you can't be reasonably certain that a team can close out a five-run lead in the ninth inning, you're a team asking for trouble.
That Davis and Houck combined to allow four runs in the ninth is, depending on your vantage point, either an aberration or deeply concerning.
Davis has been, from the start, one of the more dependable relievers on the staff. Before Friday, he had made 13 consecutive scoreless appearances and had allowed just one run over his previous 22 outings. And Houck has taken to his new bullpen assignment well, holding teams scoreless over his last eight appearances, covering a total of 16 innings.
But as we've seen again and again, the ninth inning is a different animal. Davis had been reliable, but he hadn't pitched in the ninth much. And Houck was asked to come in in the middle of an inning, with runners on base. That, too, is different than being given the eighth and told you can finish things
Perhaps this was something of a one-off. The Cardinals have a tough lineup, and everyone is entitled to an off-night, especially two relievers who have been so consistent.
But in the final three and a half months of the season, the Red Sox are going to face lineups as good if not better than the Cardinals. And it's hard to come away from Friday's win without thinking that the Red Sox badly need reinforcements at the back end of the bullpen -- preferably someone who has extensive experience in the ninth, closing out games.
Otherwise, until then, no ninth inning can be taken for granted, regardless of the score.