FINAL: Arizona Diamondbacks 4, Red Sox 1 - Poor Performance on Both Sides Lead to Second Straight Loss

The Red Sox (67-61) drop their second straight game at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks (74-56), losing 4-1 today, as well as losing the series.

The Boston bats were not alive this afternoon, as they mustered only five hits, with two of them coming in the ninth inning down four runs. Connor Wong would get the first Sox hit in the fifth inning, with Rafael Devers and Romy Gonzales singling as well. In the ninth inning, Rob Refsnyder would lead off with a single, then Masataka Yoshida would bring him in with a double off the monster. The Sox batters struck out a total of 13 times today, with Triston Casas striking out four times.

Kutter Crawford would look good to start the game, until the fourth inning where he would allow a Joc Pederson double and a Josh Bell walk, followed by a Eugenio Suarez two out, two run double. Crawford would finish the game with a line score of five innings pitched, three hits and two runs allowed, three strikeouts and two walks. Zack Kelly would come in for the sixth and pitch a perfect inning, striking out one. Lucas Sims would start the seventh inning, where he would only get one out before walking two straight and being pulled for Brennan Bernardino, for a lefty on lefty matchup. Bernardino would get another out, before walking two batters of his own, one to load the bases and one to score a run. After that, he would throw a wild pitch, allowing Luis Guillorme to score, making it 4-0. Luis Garcia pitched the eighth, where he gave up two hits, but got out of the jam. Joely Rodriguez would pitch the ninth inning, and he gave up just a hit.

My Player of the Game: Masataka Yoshida - Slim pickings for todays' POTG, but Yoshida gave the Sox their lone run in the bottom of the ninth, disallowing the shutout. He went 1-4 on the day, and was one of four Sox batters to not strike out.

The Sox will attempt to ward off the sweep tomorrow at 1:35 p.m.. The probable pitchers for tomorrow's matinee are Merrill Kelly (3-0, 3.63 ERA) and Tanner Houck (8-8, 3.01 ERA)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                __________________________________

WHO: Arizona Diamondbacks (73-56) at Red Sox (67-60)
WHEN: 4:10 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
SERIES TO DATE: 0-1
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Zac Gallen (9-6, 3.85 ERA) vs. RHP Kutter Crawford (8-10, 4.25 ERA)
TV/RADIO: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7

LIVE BOX

LINEUPS

RED SOX

Jarren Duran CF
Wilyer Abreu RF
Triston Casas 1B
Rafael Devers 3B
Rob Refsnyder LF
Masataka Yoshida DH
Mickey Gapser 2B
Connor Wong C
Ceddane Rafaela SS

SP Kutter Crawford

OPPONENT

Corbin Carrol RF
Jake McCarthy CF
Joc Pederson DH
Josh Bell 1B
Lourdes Gurriel Jr LF
Eugenio Suarez 3B
Geraldo Perdomo SS
Luis Guillorme 2B
Jose Herrera C

SP Zac Gallen

WHAT'S UP

The Red Sox lost 12-2 last night after winning each of their previous 2 games. They're 5-5 in their last 10, 10-10 in 20 games during August, and 14-18 in 32 games since the All-Star break. The Sox are 38-31 (.551) since the start of June, the AL's 2nd-best record in that span behind HOU (44-26; .629).

The Sox will wear their Nike City Connect Series uniforms today...They’re 34-12 overall when wearing them, including 19-8 since the start of 2023 (7-5 in 2024). They’ve outscored opponents 250-171 in the jerseys.

Jarren Duran last night hit his AL-leading 40th double of the season (2nd in MLB; Bohm-43). Duran ranks 4th in MLB with 70 XBH...He's the 4th Red Sox player to ever record 70 XBH and 30 SB in a season, joining Tris Speaker (1912), Jacoby Ellsbury (2011), and Mookie Betts (2018). Duran has led off the 1st inning with an XBH in each of the team's last 4 games (HR, 3 2B) and scored each time...He's the 1st Red Sox player in the Expansion Era (since 1961) to record such a streak (source: Elias).

Rafael Devers has hit 199 career HR...He would become the 11th player ever to hit 200 HR with the Red Sox, but the 1st to do so before turning 28 years old. He would be the 31st player in MLB history to reach 200 career HR at the age of 27 or younger, most recently Bryce Harper and Manny Machado in 2020.

Boston leads MLB in doubles (256) and XBH (tied, 445), while leading the AL in hits (1,156, 2nd in MLB). The Sox also rank in MLB's top 5 in AVG (4th, .261), OBP (5th, .327), SLG (2nd, .440), OPS (3rd, .767), triples (5th, 28), and runs scored (5th, 630).

Justin Slaten faced 3 batters last night for Double-A Portland vs. Somerset, his first rehab appearance (0.1 IP, H, R, BB, SO, 17 pitches, 8 strikes). Liam Hendriks made his 2nd rehab outing on Thursday for Portland vs. Somerset (0.1 IP, H, BB, 12 pitches/7 strikes).