Red Sox recap: Sloppy defense commits 5 errors, bats remain silent in loss to the White Sox

It’s only been 15 games into the season, but the Red Sox suffered their worst loss yet, getting shellacked by the lowly White Sox, 11-1, on Friday night.

The offense continues to be an issue, struggling to muster any fight against White Sox starter Davis Martin. Chicago’s right-hander dominated the Sox’ offense over six innings, allowing four hits while striking out six. He threw just 89 pitches in his outing before departing midway through the seventh.

Boston continues to struggle when they have runners in scoring position, going 1-for-9 and leaving nine men on base despite recording seven hits. Had it not been for Blake Sabol's sacrifice fly in the seventh inning, the ChiSox would have successfully shut out the Red Sox in the series opener.

The Red Sox came into the series in the Southside leading the bigs in strikeouts. They struck out 11 more times in the game and they have struck out 147 times.

TRISTON CASAS AND THE SOX' SLOPPY DEFENSE

Both at the plate and in the field, Triston Casas has struggled. He went 1-for-4 on Friday with a double late in the game and is now hitting just .176 with a lowly .530 OPS.

His defensive miscues were a bigger issue, and the White Sox capitalized, beginning in the fourth inning with one man on and one out. Omar Narváez hit a grounder toward Casas that could have been an inning-ending double play ball. Instead, he bobbled the ball, failing to record an out, and it extended the inning. The White Sox added four runs following Casas’ blunder, collecting three straight hits after a Sean Newcomb strikeout. The top of the order went double, single, and single, stretching the lead to 6-0.

“Just a lot of plays that have to be made that weren’t,” Casas said postgame. “… It’s been an issue for the first couple games. As an offense, we’re going to do better moving forward.” 

Casas took the blame for the Sox dreadful loss to the White Sox.

“It’s just a play that’s gotta be made," Casas said. “It’s an unrealistic thing to do to point out one play in the game and say, ‘That’s why we lost.’ But that’s a pretty clear one with that specific one. It pretty much changed the course of the game for the worst. I’ve replayed it in my head so many times already."

The Red Sox committed five errors, the most in a game since August 21, 2021. Casas, Ceddanne Rafaela, Josh Winckowski, and Sabol (catcher’s interference calls) all committed errors or misplayed a ball in the field. Boston has made 19 errors, their most through the first 15 games of a season since 1996. “We gotta clean that up,” Cora told reporters after the game. “We didn’t have a good defensive week at home. This was a bad night defensively, bad night overall. We didn’t hit. We didn’t play defense. Turn the page, be ready for tomorrow. We’ve just got to be better.”

STARTING PITCHING NEEDS TO IMPROVE

Newcomb wasn’t the problem on Friday night, but he certainly wasn’t the solution for the Red Sox. The Mass native was charged with six runs, but only two were earned, thanks to Casas’ error. He threw 94 pitches over four innings, allowing six hits and striking out six batters.

“That’s why they’re big-leaguers,” Cora said. “When you give the opposition more than 27 outs, they’re going to cash in. They’re gonna make you pay. That’s what happened today.” 

Over his first three starts, he has a 4.97 ERA and is likely about to be replaced in the starting rotation by either Lucas Giolito (left hamstring) or Brayan Bello (right shoulder). The righty who is rehabbing in Worcester went four innings, giving up four hits and two earned runs while striking out five in his third minor league appearance.

Bello told reporters at Polar Park he’s “ready for whatever,” but is not sure if he will need another rehab outing.

If the Red Sox activate Bello, Newcomb can’t be optioned; he will need to be placed on waivers and then outrighted to Triple-A Worcester.

RED SOX NOTABLES: GOOD AND BAD

Kristian Campbell remains a valuable asset for Boston. He has now reached safely in all 15 games in the big leagues. The Sox rookie went 2-for-4 with two punch outs, but both his hits came out of the seventh spot of the lineup.

Sabol is keeping the seat warm for Yasmani Grandal, who the Sox signed to a minor league deal on Thursday. Sabol went 0-for-3 with an RBI, including grounding into an inning-ending double play that killed a rally early on in the game. The White Sox also ran wild on him on the base paths. Chicago went 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts.

Grandal is expected to report to the WooSox on Saturday, although the weather will likely rain out their game on Saturday against the Columbus Clippers.

“We didn’t execute today, we didn’t,” Cora said. “It’s not a lack of energy. I think energy comes from offense. We haven’t hit. It looks that way. Defensively, we had a chance to turn a double play.”

Jarren Duran, Alex Bregman, and Rafael Devers combined for just 1-for-10 hitting at the top of the lineup with two walks and two strikeouts. 

CHASE MEIDROTH’S DEBUT

Chase Meidroth was one of the four players the Red Sox traded in December for left-handed ace Garrett Crochet.

He reached base and all four plate appearances while also collecting his first major league hit. Meidroth showed excellent command of the strike zone, walking three times. This is not surprising, given that he led the minors with 105 walks during his time playing for Worcester last season.

With Richard Fitts on the mound on Saturday, Boston, who has lost four of their last five games, will try to turn things around. He will make his third appearance on the mound; the right-hander is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA.