BOSTON — The Red Sox ran into three outs Friday, ending the third, sixth and seventh innings.
Boston lost 4-2 to the Braves here at Fenway Park to drop to 22-24. It is the first time the Red Sox have been two games below .500 since April 14 (8-10).
Manager Alex Cora’s team is 8-14 in games decided by one or two runs, including 4-12 in one-run games. Base running mistakes get more magnified in these close games.
“It’s frustrating,” Cora said. “One thing, when you go through weeks like this, you don’t have to push the envelope. It’s the other way around. We have to slow it down as a team and I don’t think we need that today.”
The Red Sox couldn’t afford to give Chris Sale any free outs because the lefty was dealing.
Sale earned the win for the Braves, allowing just one run and striking out eighth in 7 innings. The former Red Sox ace outdueled Garrett Crochet, Boston’s current ace, who allowed two runs in 7 innings.
Jarren Duran tripled with one out in the third inning and Rafael Devers walked to put runners at the corners. Devers later got caught stealing by getting held up between first and second base to end the inning with lefty masher Rob Refsnyder at the plate.
Asked if it was a miscommunication, Cora replied, “ Like I said, we have to slow down the game. We have to as a group. In these situations, when you’re not winning games — because we’re not playing bad — when you’re not winning games, it should be the other way around. Just let it happen. Sometimes that’s the best way of doing it. And today we pushed the envelope and it didn’t work out.”
Duran singled to lead off the sixth inning. But Sale picked him off for the inning’s final out. Duran was trying to steal second base but left too early. Refsnyder again was at the plate when it happened.
Nick Sogard singled (102.5 mph exit velocity) off the Green Monster with two outs in the seventh. He tried to turn it into a double but left fielder Eli White threw him out at second base.
“It is easy for everybody to second guess. I mean, it’s not an easy read,” Cora said. “He hasn’t played here that often. And I bet if he has to do it again, he won’t do it again. But you have to read it and you make a decision. And sometimes you’re safe, sometimes you’re out. … Like I said, we have to slow it down and we didn’t do that today.”
The Sox entered the top of the ninth behind only 2-1. But Liam Hendriks walked two batters, then Brennan Bernardino issued three walks, including two bases-loaded walks.
“We’ve been talking about it,” Cora said about the importance of playing clean baseball. “We talk every day. So it’s one of those that we gotta keep preaching what’s good and the things that we need to be better (at). And we’ve been doing that.”
Boston has dropped five of its last seven games and 10 of its past 15 games.
