BOSTON -- After squandering a ninth-inning lead and a chance to sweep the Marlins on Sunday, it would have seemed hard to believe an even more painful defeat awaited the Red Sox on this brief five-game homestand.
But that’s exactly what happened, as Tuesday night’s 4-3 loss to the Orioles in 11 innings was one of the hardest of the season to stomach.
In a game full of twists and turns, here were four key takeaways from the series finale at Fenway Park.
RISP woes
Down, 3-1, through five innings, the Red Sox gave themselves all kinds of chances to come back and win the game.
The reason they didn’t was an inability to capitalize on those chances, as evidenced by an 0-for-13 performance with runners in scoring position that included 13 runners left on base.
No missed opportunity was more glaring than the one in the eighth inning, when the bases were loaded with none out. Not just that, but Boston’s No. 3-4-5 hitters were coming up against Baltimore righty Rico Garcia, who has been designated for assignment three times this season.
Garcia struck out Jarren Duran, Trevor Story and Masataka Yoshida on a total of 12 pitches.
“Yeah, we chased a lot today,” manager Alex Cora said. “We haven't done that in a while. We had our opportunities to win the game early in the game, in the middle of the game, late in the game. It just didn’t happen.”
A 2-0 start to the homestand turned into 2-3 homestand as the offense went mostly quiet for three straight games.
Newcomer Lowe almost saved the game
Despite all the frustration on offense, Boston got one gigantic swing from Nathaniel Lowe, who hammered a game-tying two-run homer with none out in the ninth.
One day after Lowe was signed as a free agent after being released by the Nationals on Saturday, he made the most of his first start with the Red Sox.
“So exciting,” Lowe said. “It's what you play for. Scoring big runs late is really important. I was really happy to contribute tonight.”
Lowe had a chance to walk off the Orioles just one inning later, as he drew a walk to put runners at first and second with one out. But Abraham Toro hit into an inning-ending double play, sending the game to the 11th.
Why not send Eaton?
After the O’s got the automatic runner home in the top of the 11th, the Red Sox seemed poised to do the same in their half of the frame when Connor Wong bunted the speedy Nate Eaton to third base.
Roman Anthony’s goal was to hit a fly ball deep enough to get Eaton home. But on his 265-foot flyout to center fielder Colton Cowser, Eaton initially tagged, but he was then held by third-base coach Kyle Hudson.
“That’s an impact arm in center field,” Cora said. “We prepare before the series and we decide who we’re going to challenge or not, so we didn’t challenge him.”
The way the Red Sox hit throughout the game in run-scoring chances, there was more scrutiny on Hudson’s decision not to go off script and go for it. It was magnified more because Cowser’s throw was 15 to 20 feet off line, and Eaton would have scored easily.
“Staying with the play the whole time, watching the play develop, understanding the work that went into it, understanding that's an impact arm in center field and seeing the play develop, you use your instincts and make the decision,” Hudson said. “That's the decision I made. Obviously, the throw was offline. You know, we’ve got to live with it. I live with it. It is what it is at this point.”
Buehler boils after latest rough outing
The hyper-competitive Walker Buehler did keep Boston in the game, holding Baltimore to two runs on four hits over four-plus innings. But he walked four and was constantly needing to work out of traffic, throwing 75 pitches to get 12 outs.
If the Red Sox didn’t have an off-day on Wednesday, Cora might have stuck with his starter a bit longer. Buehler didn’t blame Cora for the short leash.
“At some point, the kind of leash I'm given has been earned,” said Buehler, who has allowed 54 free passes in 110 innings this season. “I think they did the right thing in coming to get me before the [Gunnar] Henderson at-bat, and our bullpen has been great. It’s [expletive] embarrassing. The last time I walked this many in a season [52 in 2021], I pitched 207 innings. So, yeah, it just sucks.”