Red Sox 2, Rays 6: Defense Does Sox In AGAIN

I genuinely can’t believe the absurdity of Red Sox fielding at this point.

Yesterday, Kiké Hernandez made error after error. Today, it was multiple throwing errors on ONE play that led to a little league homer for the Rays. Alex Cora said “we’re not a good defensive team” earlier this week. That was beyond evident today.

In the fourth, with two on and no outs, the Sox got Taylor Walls to hit into a swinging bunt, but thanks awful fielding positioning by Justin Turner and an awkward throw by Connor Wong, they didn’t record an out. The next batter, Manuel Margot, knocked two runs home.

The sixth inning saw Yandy Diaz come all the way around from his own hit on some horrendous missed throws, and a throwing error by Connor Wong, and that felt like the ballgame.

One thing the Red Sox and Rays might be able to agree upon was how horrendous the strike zone was. Home plate umpire Edwin Jimenez drew the ire of both dugouts early on with ridiculously inaccurate calls on both ends.

Between all of these miscues, the cold bats, and not getting results from (most) people across the board, Alex Cora should be fuming after this game.

Three Studs

Alex Verdugo (.180 WPA, 3-for-5, 2 runs scored)

Two doubles and a triple, and two runs scored. If anyone had the hustle to win today, it was Dugey. With Duvall coming back soon, having Verdugo’s bat stay strong should hopefully maintain a lot of balance in this lineup.

Masataka Yoshida (.082 WPA, 2-for-4, 1 RBI)

Yoshi just keeps getting on base. Again, leading the team in every calculated batting metric possible, he’s proving how well he belongs in this lineup. Does he move to a lead-off hitting spot or does he stay third or fourth, where it’s clear he can drive in runs?

Triston Casas (.030 WPA, 0-for-2, 2 BBs)

No hits, but good on Casas to take advantage of a less than stellar umpiring strike zone to get on base.

Three Duds

Tanner Houck (-.195 WPA, 5.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 6 K)

I can place blame on the defense, but I can lay blame on Houck too. Just not enough adjustments to work out of jams, either.

Justin Turner (-.132 WPA, 0-for-4, 1 K)

Between his defensive miscue in the fourth and his seeming cold streak at the dish, it’s hard not to see him lose a little playing time when Duvall comes back.

Enmanuel Valdez (-.130 WPA, 0-for-4, 2 Ks)

Valdez is in a pickle because Yu Chang and Christian Arroyo are coming back sooner rather than later and both would supersede Valdez on the depth chart for that 2B slot. Has he done enough to stay on the bench or is it worth sending him down for consistent playing time?

Play of the Game

By total WPA, it was Yandy Diaz’s little-league homer in the top of the 6th inning with a WPA of .149. For the Red Sox, it was Masataka Yoshida’s RBI single in the bottom of the third with a WPA of .107.