Sox don’t have moves
Farrell’s gambles can’t stop loss to KC
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Line drive to left-center, and Jackie Bradley Jr. was in a full sprint. It didn’t take long for the Red Sox center fielder to be fully committed.
He dove head-first like Superman, either to save the day or set the stage. The ball got past him. It was that kind of night for the Red Sox.
Given a chance to take sole possession of first place in the AL East, the Red Sox got aggressive. Manager John Farrell went to his bullpen early, Christian Vazquez had to play an inning at third base, and Bradley went all-out for a catch he couldn’t quite make.
That rolling triple in the seventh inning opened the door for the Royals to break a tie and beat the Red Sox, 4-2, in last night’s series opener at Kauffman Stadium.
“I tried to be the most direct I could to it,” Bradley said. “I obviously could have taken a way deeper route, but then I wouldn’t have known if I would have actually been able to just catch it in the air or not. I just tried to be as direct to it as I could, tried to make a play on it, and it was barely just out of my reach.”
With one out and the game tied at 2, that line drive from Drew Butera got past Bradley and rolled to the wall for a triple. Two more singles in the inning gave the Royals two runs, which stood as the difference.
But Bradley’s dive wasn’t the extent of the Red Sox’ risk-taking.
Farrell pulled his starting pitcher after just 77 pitches, and he pinchhit Chris Young in the eighth, knowing it would leave only Vazquez — who played nine games at third base in the lower minors — to handle the hot corner the rest of the way.
“That’s Chris against a left-hander representing the go-ahead run if he catches one,” Farrell said. “We didn’t get a two-out base hit to narrow the gap.”
Both of Farrell’s aggressive maneuvers sort of worked in the short term, but they didn’t pay off in the end.
Through the first five innings, the Red Sox and Royals traded two-run homers. Eric Hosmer hit one for Kansas City, and Bradley responded with one for the Sox, one of his three hits in the game.
In the sixth, Red Sox rookie starter Hector Velazquez had retired the previous eight batters in a row when Farrell literally jogged to the mound, wasting little time making his call to the bullpen.
He was playing the matchups, bringing lefty Fernando Abad to handle left-handed hitters Hosmer and Mike Moustakas.
“You get a little bit of an idea, a little bit of a game plan mapped out before the game,” Farrell said. “And (Velazquez) did exactly what we would have hoped.”
Abad walked Hosmer on six pitches, and Moustakas reached on a bunt single against the shift, but Blaine Boyer got out of the jam with both runners stranded. Not exactly the way Farrell drew it up, but the result kept the game tied.
The very next inning, Butera hit his triple.
“You’re not going to fault a guy for the all-out effort that (Bradley) gave because we have seen that play made a number of times,” Farrell said. “Unfortunately, it eludes him a little bit, they end up with a man at third base.”
An inning after the Royals took the lead, Farrell emptied his bench with one move.
The Red Sox were playing with an extra reliever in the bullpen and Dustin Pedroia out because of a back injury. That left only two bench players, and neither was an infielder. With two on and two outs in the eighth, though, Young pinchhit for Pablo Sandoval against lefty Royals reliever Mike Minor.
In a way, it worked. Young drew a walk that loaded the bases, but Vazquez followed with a ground ball that left three runners stranded.
Vazquez went to third base for the bottom of the inning, and Sandy Leon came off the bench to catch, extinguishing every reserve at the Red Sox’ disposal.
Vazquez used Pedroia’s glove and hat. He said it felt “good, normal” to be out there.
Farrell’s bold move didn’t come back to haunt the Red Sox on defense, but it didn’t give them a lead either. Andrew Benintendi tripled in the ninth, but he was left stranded.
“You know, no one cares about what we’re going through outside these walls,” Farrell said. “So, we’re banged up a little bit. A number of teams are. That’s no excuse.”