BSJ Game Report: Guardians 5, Red Sox 2 - Murphy shines in debut, but rest of bullpen, defense falter

All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' loss to the Guardians, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Bats fade, defense falters as Sox drop back to .500: The Red Sox had a hot start to the plate in the first inning, but only managed to get one run across after two of their five total hits on the night. Three errors in the top of the fourth tied a season-high for Boston and allowed Cleveland to take the lead before the Guardians scratched off more insurance on Justin Garza in the fifth. The Sox stranded eight and were just 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position. 

Murphy impresses in debut: Chris Murphy came on for his first action as a Major Leaguer after getting called up on his birthday on Monday. The 25-year-old, Boston's 13th-ranked prospect, needed just two pitches to get out of the fifth inning with a runner on second. He cruised relatively stress-free the rest of the way after a clean sixth inning before working his way through the seventh and eighth frames as well. Finished his night with 3.1 innings of work and five strikeouts, allowing just two hits and a walk. 

TURNING POINT

Bottom of the fourth and fifth: After the Guardians' defensive miscues gifted the Red Sox a run in the top of the fourth, Boston couldn't hold it down on defense. Kutter Crawford started solidly but began to falter in the top of the fourth as the defense did with him. A miscue between Triston Casas and Enmanuel Valdez kicked off a rocky inning for the Sox, who quickly found themselves staring down traffic on the bases with no outs. Josh Naylor notched an RBI single to atone for an error of his own and tie the game before a Rafael Devers error allowed the Guardians to take the lead

ONE UP 

Chris Murphy: Not only did Murphy eat innings in his big league debut for a bullpen that's in rough shape, but he excelled. He was far and away Boston's steadiest pitcher in this one with the five K's. Threw 32 of his 54 pitches for strikes. Had 17 combined called strikes and whiffs, including nine with his fastball. 

"I blacked out a little bit, trying to take in the first few seconds, but I had a runner on base and I obviously didn't want him to score. That's the competitor in me, wanting to leave that runner there, so that was my first focus. Kind of told myself I'd take it in right after I'm done," Murphy told reporters. "At one point, yeah [it did feel surreal], like, 'I'm pitching in a Major League game.' But it's 60 feet, six inches. Everything's exactly the same. Just a few more fans and better hitters."

Alex Cora said, "That was cool to see. Good fastball. Good breaking down. We stretched him out, and I'm glad he can say he's a big leaguer. Everybody knows his story, right? So it was cool to put him into a spot to, you know, come in with traffic. The only thing I said is, 'Hey man, you're a big leaguer. Here we go. Have fun." 

THREE DOWN

Defense: Believe it or not, Kiké Hernández wasn't the biggest liability in the field for Boston. He made a strong defensive play to help out Murphy after smartly eating a ball in the first. As for everyone else? Eek. All three Red Sox errors were costly. Casas and Valdez muffed an easy play, and Devers' failure to come up with a grounder allowed Cleveland to take the lead.

"Of course, I'm not going to feel well after that play, even more with the situation that we were in, but that's baseball," Devers told reporters via a translator. "We need to keep improving and keep working on our defense. Just keep trying to get better. But of course, a little bit frustrating that I couldn't make that play."

Justin Turner: Turner keeps riding the ups and downs at the plate. Finished 0-for-4, including a pair of groundouts and a popout. His popout with runners on first and second with no outs in the top of the first was a sign of the paltry effort to come with runners in scoring position for Boston. Embodied the Sox' tough night at the plate.

Justin Garza: After tough defense let down Crawford and Brennan Bernardino in the fourth, Garza couldn't stabilize things in the fifth, giving up a single and a pair of doubles as Cleveland opened their lead to 5-2. 

QUOTE OF NOTE

Cora on the defense: "Two or three plays there [in the fourth], you know, and that's when they score all those runs. It's just one of those that we keep talking about, but we need to get better. There's nothing, I mean, I think enough with the talking about it. We just got to perform. ... It's frustrating because we're working. It's not lack of effort, and it's not lack of work. It's where we are right now. At some point, you have to slow the game down. I think that's it. 

"Lack of effort it's not. Lack of execution it is. It's hard because you can't get on them because they're trying. They're trying, you know? Just right now, it's not happening for us."

UP NEXT

Rubber match the three-game set will be at 7:10 p.m. Thursday in Cleveland. The Red Sox have not named a starter. Cora said they have to make a move. LHP Matt Dermody is reportedly on the trip. He is 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA in Triple-A Worcester this season. RHP Aaron Civale (1-1, 2.04 ERA) will start for the Guardians.