Sox suffer jolting loss in Baltimore
Baltimore — It was 10 years ago Tuesday when the Red Sox famously completed their September collapse, losing to the Orioles at Camden Yards before the Rays finished a comeback, walk-off win that sent Boston officially out of the playoffs and packing for the winter.
Back at the scene of the crime exactly a decade later, the Red Sox will hope that this loss to the O's isn't foreshadowing of another stunning fall out of the postseason.
Of the contending American League wild card teams, the Red Sox certainly have the easiest road to next Tuesday's win-or-go-home playoff game. But they started the critical week with a ominous bump in that path. With their ace on the mound against a 106-loss team, the Red Sox couldn't get it done. Chris Sale didn't get through six innings, and their offense was inexplicably nonexistent in a 4-2 loss to the Orioles, who look motivated to play spoiler again.
The loss was the Red Sox' fourth consecutive defeat after being swept by the Yankees over the weekend, as their troubling offense woes evidently traveled with them to Baltimore. They produced just three hits, two of them solo home runs against Orioles pitching that has given up nearly six runs per game in September.
Sale looked sharp as he cruised through five scoreless innings. But behind solo blasts from Kyle Schwarber and Hunter Renfroe, there was a slimmer margin for error for the lefty — who has been the beneficiary of massive run support since his return in August ? as he entered the sixth.
Sale allowed a leadoff single to No. 9 hitter Kelvin Gutierrez, and as he turned to face the Orioles' order for a third time, Alex Cora called for Hansel Robles to start warming up in the bullpen. But after Sale induced Cedric Mullins into a fly ball for the first out, Cora stayed with his lefty for the right-handed power-hitting Ryan Mountcastle. It didn't pay off. Sale left a changeup hanging on his first pitch to Mountcastle, who made no mistake with it as he smashed it into the left-field seats for the game-tying home run.
On the mound, Sale was understandably and visibly frustrated with himself, screaming into his glove and at himself in disgust as he paced back and forth. He lasted one more hitter, giving up a single to Austin Hays before Cora pulled the plug and went to Robles.
But it was far from smooth sailing for Robles, who has been solid of late. He allowed back-to-back singles to Trey Mancini and Pedro Severino, the latter of which was hard-hit to third, where Rafael Devers was unable to snag it as it got by him for the goahead run.