Sox spot starter knocked around
Comeback falls flat after Valdez falters in ninth
The Red Sox clawed their way back into what looked like an unwinnable game on Sunday afternoon, but Phillips Valdez let it all fall apart.
With an opportunity to keep the deficit at one and let the offense get one more chance, Valdez entered in the top of the ninth and promptly allowed five runs to score.
It ended as an 11-5 loss to the Cleveland Indians as the Red Sox took two of three in the series.
Manager Alex Cora said after the game that he wanted to send Hansel Robles back out for the ninth after he handled a scoreless eighth, but Robles suffered a lat injury and the Sox had to change directions.
Valdez warmed up quickly in the ’pen and Cora said he appreciated his efforts, but the pitches were mostly non-competitive as the Indians knocked him around for five runs on five hits and a walk.
“You got to give him credit,” Cora said. “He went out there and tried his best.”
Cora also had Garrett Whitlock warm, but he said he wanted to save Whitlock if the game was tied or the Sox were ahead in the ninth.
“It’s not like we ran out of pitching but you understand where we’re at right now and you have to be very careful,” Cora said. “We still have a game (Monday) and the next day and the next day. You guys know how I feel about it. We don’t have to win 27 in a row. Other guys have to step up.”
It won’t be a totally disappointing series, as the Sox played quite well, considering the challenges they’ve had. They keep adding players to the COVID-19-related injury list and entered the game with 11 players out due to COVID concerns.
One of them, Nick Pivetta, was supposed to start Sunday’s game.
Forced to summon former 17th-round draft pick Kutter Crawford to make the emergency start instead, the Sox found themselves in a deep hole early.
In his big league debut, Crawford struggled to put guys away and allowed five runs in just two-plus innings of work as the Sox quickly fell into a 6-0 hole.
“Good stuff,” Cora said of Crawford, who had a 4.16 ERA and 103 strikeouts to 13 walks in the minors this year. “Obviously there were a lot of two-out hits but he filled up the strike zone with good stuff. It’s not easy to come into a situation like this and maneuver a big league lineup …
“Stuff-wise, he’s really good. I told him on the mound, he’s a big-leaguer. He had the experience. Look around. It’s Fenway Park, packed house. He’s probably a little disappointed because of what happened today but he’ll be a good one.”
Crawford said he didn’t arrive in Boston until 4:30 a.m. on Saturday and wasn’t sure if he was starting until late Saturday night.
“I tried to get as much sleep as possible,” he said. “I was super-excited. Went to sleep, woke up, tried to do my normal routine and do my best. … I felt like I had pretty good control of my emotions. I just didn’t execute pitches as I needed to and they got me.”
Alex Verdugo said on Saturday that the Sox offense is finally starting to feel like it did early in the season, when the hitters were happy to take their singles or walks and pass the baton to the next guy. The “team baseball” approach led to a lot of comeback wins.
Sunday, it looked that way once again.
The first five batters in the fifth inning reached base safely, with a Hunter Renfroe double, a J.D. Martinez double, an Alex Verdugo walk, a Kevin Plawecki single and a Travis Shaw double off the tip-top of the right-center field wall. It was an inch or two away from leaving the park.
Three runs scored to cut the Indians’ lead in half. But with runners on second and third and nobody out, Bobby Dalbec flew out to bring the No. 8 hitter, Jack Lopez, to the plate.
It was early in the game, but Cora went to his bench.
Rafael Devers was supposed to get the day off. Instead, he pinch hit for Lopez as the tying run in the fifth. Devers fell behind 0-2 and fouled off a few tough pitches, but Zach Plesac struck him out on a high fastball to dull the threat. Jonathan Arauz then struck out swinging on three pitches and the Sox ended the inning with just three runs.
“We went for the jugular with Raffy,” Cora said. “I think it was the perfect spot for him right there with Plesac struggling. We decided to get back into the game. We have to do this. It’s a lot tougher to come back in the ninth against the closer or any of the other guys. We felt it was a perfect situation and it just didn’t happen. There were a lot of empty at-bats that would’ve changed the game and we could’ve gone to the next level, bullpen-wise.”
The Sox added two more in the sixth on J.D. Martinez’s homer, but it was otherwise a day of missed chances for a Sox team that went just 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position and left 12 men on base.