Ranger Suarez started strong, allowing no runs through the first five innings while keeping his pitch count low early. Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela provided early offense with back-to-back home runs, and the bullpen entered the late game rested. In the ninth inning, the Red Sox had a realistic path to a comeback against Raisel Iglesias, with multiple runners reaching and the tying and potential winning runs in scoring position. Despite the setup, the rally did not produce the needed runs. The game also featured costly offensive outcomes, including a double play by Mickey Gasper in the sixth inning, and the team’s overall shortcomings repeatedly prevented them from turning opportunities into wins.
"For a while, in the early part of this game, it looked like the Red Sox were on their way to a satisfying victory. Ranger Suarez got through the first inning on eight pitches and held Atlanta scoreless into the fifth, Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela led things off with back to back home runs, and all the high leverage relievers were ready and rested following an off day. Unfortunately, it didn't materialize."
"For a while, in the bottom of the ninth inning, it looked like the Red Sox were on the verge of piecing together their most impressive comeback of the season. They were facing Raisel Iglesias - one of the best closers in the game - down by three, and had the bottom of the lineup due up. But five batters into the inning, four men had reached, the tying run was at second, the potential winning run was at first with speed in Jarren Duran, and the heart of the order was coming up. Again, it didn't materialize."
"We could pinpoint an extraordinary number of moments from the middle of this game where it all fell apart, particularly if you want chronicle Ranger Suarez slowly melting away, but offensively, it's hard to find a more costly at bat than Mickey Gasper's double play in the sixth inning. Atlanta was struggling to bridge the gap to their better relievers and looked frustrated they had to leave Didier Fuentes in to face a third hitter, but somehow, they still got the best result they could have hoped for in their most problematic inning on paper."
"But regardless of where you want to point the telescope, the night night sky was filled with an array of Red Sox shortcomings. There were approximately 874 different things the Red Sox could have done slightly differently in this game, and if they had done any of them, they probably would have won. Alas, things didn't materialize."
Read at Over the Monster
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]