CHICAGO -- There was hardly any precedent for what the Red Sox had done, taking a 10-game winning streak into the All-Star break. Therefore, there was little way to know how it would impact their momentum.
While those were the only previous teams to take a winning streak of 10 games or more into the All-Star break, those squads also lost their first game after the break.
Here’s what is known: Baseball is a game of near daily repetition for six months. And not having that for four days can be a factor, particularly for a team riding a hot streak.
Playing in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field against one of the top teams in MLB this season, there was some immediate rust that Lucas Giolito had to shake off. And it took him three batters too long, as it turned out.
Giolito, as hot coming into the break (0.70 ERA in previous six starts) as the Sox were as a team, walked the first two batters of the first inning.
Up stepped Seiya Suzuki, who mauled a first-pitch, three-run homer on a 93.5-mph fastball that was high and out of the strike zone.
“That's a bad way to start the series and the second half,” said Giolito. “I’ve got to be a tone setter and I didn't do that. Two walks and a home run, and three runs in the first inning puts us on our heels. I’ve got to be better than that.”
Fortunately, Giolito did buckle down the rest of the way and kept his team in the game.
The ever-accountable Giolito didn’t use the All-Star break as an excuse for his spotty first inning.
“No, there's no excuse, like, extra days off or anything,” said Giolito. “I need to be ready to go.”
But baseball is a game of routines. When players fall out of one, it can take on a fish-out-of-water phenomenon, at least for a spurt.
“I hate extra days of rest, but that's our season,” said Giolito. “We have a break, you get used to it. I'm thinking, ‘What could I have done better to prepare?’ Nothing, really. I just needed to be better. So hopefully, the boys pick me up tomorrow and we still win the series. Definitely not proud of that [performance].”
The offense showed hints of production, scattering seven hits, but the big rally never came.
It nearly happened in the fifth inning when Abraham Toro led off with a single and Jarren Duran followed with a walk, putting two runners on with nobody out. At the time, the Sox were down, 3-1.
Alex Bregman hit a line drive that center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong made a routine catch on. For some reason, Toro thought the ball was going to drop in for a hit and was easily doubled off second base.
That was the play the Red Sox never recovered from.
“I think we had chances and then we made that baserunning mistake, first and second, no outs,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “Alex hit the ball hard, and Abraham had the bad read and we got doubled up. We put pressure on them, but not enough.”
What happened?
“Just a bad read,” Toro said. “He hit the ball pretty good. I should have just froze there, and I took a couple steps and next thing you know it was too late to come back. I just made my decision too quickly. I had time to read it especially at second, so that’s what happened.”
The Red Sox did their best to combat the layoff, holding an optional workout at Thursday night at Wrigley for which nearly every player on the team showed up.
“I think it says a lot,” said Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story. “The boys are ready to just be together again. I think we missed each other, believe it or not. We’re with each other every single day, but when you go through four days without it, it's like, ‘Man, where are the boys at?’ So I think it's a sign that the boys love being together. We love the vibe that we have and obviously, it showed the focus that we [wanted] to start the second half how we finished the first half.”
The Red Sox hope to grab that momentum back on Saturday when Brayan Bello takes the ball against tough Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga.