Takeaways from Red Sox loss to Cubs, sluggish 2nd half start

CHICAGO -- Resetting after the All-Star break has been a challenge for the Red Sox, at least for these first two games at Wrigley Field against the Cubs.

After riding the wave of a 10-game winning streak into the break, the Sox lost on Friday afternoon and dropped Saturday night’s contest, 6-0.

The good news? Ace Garrett Crochet takes the ball in Sunday afternoon’s finale.

Here are some takeaways from Saturday’s defeat.

Why not pinch-hit for Wong?

The Red Sox didn’t have many chances on a night when Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga was in top form. In the seventh, however, with Imanaga gearing up to throw his final few pitches of the night, an infield hit by Abraham Toro put runners at the corners with two outs.

Down 3-0, Connor Wong represented the potential tying run at the plate. Given Wong’s massive struggles at the plate this season (batting line of .144/.228/.144 with no extra-base hits and one RBI in 90 at-bats), it was fair to wonder if manager Alex Cora would send up a pinch-hitter.

Instead, Wong took his at-bat and popped up the first pitch to second base. Rally over.

The options on the bench? One right-handed hitter (starting catcher Carlos Narváez) and three lefties (Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu and Marcelo Mayer).

“You’ve got to trust your players,” Cora said. “He’s playing today for a reason and I felt like it’s a good matchup lefty against him and it just didn’t work out.”

Wong was one of Boston’s most surprising hitters last season, hitting .280 with 13 homers and 52 RBIs. When Wong suffered a fractured fifth finger early this season, Narváez took the No. 1 job behind the dish and ran with it. Why hasn’t Wong been able to get anything going at the plate during his one to two starts per week?

“I don’t know,” said Cora. “I wish we could have the answer right now and he contributes. We need him to contribute, we know that. He’s going to play. We’re not going to play Narvy every game. The innings are up there. [Sunday] is a day game and so today was [Wong’s] chance to play. He did a good job behind the plate, then it got out of hand, but we trust the player.”

First things first

The other big missed opportunity for the Red Sox was right out of the gate, when Rob Refsnyder belted a double into the gap in left-center on the first pitch of the game.

It was a good opportunity for Boston to at least put one on the board. But Alex Bregman took a borderline 3-1 pitch for strike two and grounded softly to first. Romy Gonzalez, who has crushed lefties all season, struck out on a pitch out of the strike zone. Roman Anthony also struck out, and the threat was over.

“Obviously, you’ve got to capitalize against really good starting pitching when you have the opportunity to, and we didn't do a good enough job there,” said Bregman. “I’ve got to drive Ref in there in the first inning.”

The missed opportunity hurt even more when Red Sox starter Brayan Bello opened the bottom of the first inning by giving up back-to-back homers to Michael Busch and Kyle Tucker. For the second day in a row, the Sox played from behind from the first inning on.

Given that Bregman was playing just his fourth game since returning from a seven-week absence, he should be better positioned to come through in a situation like that in the coming days as he regains his timing. The invaluable leader is 3-for-16 since his return.

“Yeah, getting there,” said Bregman. “I’m gonna get it squared away here, and get back to rolling.”

Familiar foes

Masataka Yoshida doesn’t start much against lefties. But the fact he has some experience with Imanaga from their days in Japan could have factored into Cora inserting him into Saturday’s lineup. Yoshida came through with two of the five hits Boston generated against Chicago’s nasty lefty.

“We’re the same age and we were in the same conference for college, although we were in different leagues when we're in the NPB,” said Yoshida. “It was kind of a unique feeling facing him.”

What does Yoshida remember about Imanaga from their college days?

“What stood out to me the most was his fastball path,” Yoshida said. “Good ride, rising fastball.”