The conditions at Fenway Park were sloppy for Sunday’s series finale between the Red Sox and Twins. It rained at various intensities from the first pitch to the last, and while the grounds crew did an excellent job keeping the field playable, the conditions were a factor. For the Red Sox, that manifested in the form of sloppy baseball.
It first appeared in Sonny Gray’s performance. He managed just four innings, allowing three runs on 75 pitches. The outing wasn’t a disaster, but he clearly had a difficult time spinning the baseball, couldn’t land his cutter in the zone, and didn’t execute with two strikes. In the first inning, he failed to back up a throw home from Wilyer Abreu. It ultimately didn’t matter, but good teams get those details correct. In the third inning, the Twins took advantage of two infield singles — one of which looked like an easy double play ball that deflected off of Gray’s foot — and grabbed two runs to retake the lead.
Later on, in the sixth inning with the Red Sox in the lead, Tyron Guerrero gave up two singles on jam shots through the infield. Garrett Whitlock took over and surrendered a hit to plate a run. Jarren Duran fielded the ball at the wall and made an out-of-control, high-arching throw to third base that allowed the hitter to easily take second base. The next hitter singled, Duran threw home, and Carlos Narvaez couldn’t handle the throw. Two runs scored on the play, the second being the runner who took an extra base on Duran’s throw.
Skipping ahead to the ninth inning with the Red Sox trailing by two, Isaiah Kiner-Falefa doubled off the wall with runners on the corners. Third base coach Chad Epperson tried to have Connor Wong score from first on the play, and he was cut down at the plate. The send came with one out, and the rain was so bad at that point that the grounds crew came out to work on the field. After the delay, Twins pitcher Yoendrys Gomez balked and then hit Jarren Duran with a wild pitch. Neither of those things is guaranteed to happen with Wong on first base, but they’re both evidence that the send was reckless.
Ceddanne Rafaela flew out for the final out after a pitching change, and the Red Sox lost 6-5. After sweeping the Royals, the Twins do the same to the Red Sox. It’s one step forward and six steps back this season, seemingly.
He hit an absolute bomb of a home run. I really wish he were better.
Two more RBIs for Willson, who continues to put the offense on his back.
I thought there was no way this game was played, but the grounds crew somehow kept the field in good enough shape. Time to go walk my dog in the rain. Maybe they can help.
Hindsight is 20-20, but that send was terrible.
He got tagged with two runs, although I think he was unfortunate. He was in the zone, and the two hits weren’t hit hard. With his velocity, if he’s in the zone as he was today, he’ll be successful more often than not.
0-3, two strikeouts, and he dropped the ball when he should have been able to tag a runner out at the plate to prevent a run.
