Rafael Devers’ big day not enough as Red Sox lose to Tigers 8-4 in 10 innings

It wound up being a disappointing afternoon at Fenway Park. The offense largely fell silent, the pitching staff blew a 3-0 lead and the Red Sox had to settle for a four-game split against a Detroit Tigers team they really should have beaten.

But let it be said that Boston’s $313 million man did everything in his power to prevent that from happening.

Rafael Devers enjoyed a sensational game on Sunday, going 2 for 4 with two RBI, a walk, a triple and the game-tying solo home run in the bottom of the eighth. He also made a handful of brilliant defensive plays, but it wasn’t enough as the Red Sox wound up losing 8-4 in 10 innings.

Detroit’s four-run top of the 10th made the difference, with Andy Ibanez putting the Tigers ahead with an RBI double, Javier Baez delivering the dagger with a two-run single and Carson Kelly tacking on another RBI double as added insurance. All four runs came against left-hander Cam Booser, and the Red Sox offense wound up going quietly in the bottom of the 10th.

“They put good at-bats,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “There were some matchups there we liked and others we didn’t but that’s where we were in the bullpen, we were one pitch away from getting out of it, it was a pitch to Javy down in the zone, he put a good swing on it and they kept going.”

The end result aside, Devers seems as comfortable on both sides of the ball as he’s looked in ages.

Devers’ RBI triple in the third inning was his second triple in five days, and prior to that he hadn’t hit one since May 18, 2022. His first-inning walk also set up Enmanuel Valdez’s subsequent RBI single, continuing a trend that’s seen Devers’ walk rate improve to 12% this year from his career average of 8.3%.

“I think controlling the strike zone has helped him,” Cora said pregame of Devers. “He’s not chasing the fastball like he used to. And understanding who he is in the lineup, right? He knows that there’s going to be certain situations that he might get one pitch to hit, and just be ready for that one, and be humble enough to take your walk. It seems like now he’s in a great place.”

Cora also praised Devers for his defense, which has quietly become much better this season. Though the advanced metrics are still down on Devers, he has only recorded four errors through his first 49 games, and Sunday he started a smooth double play to help Brayan Bello post a quick 1-2-3 fourth inning before later making an incredible stop and throw from his knees in the top of the ninth.

Devers is now batting .283 with 11 home runs, 29 RBI and a .925 OPS, all of which rank among the best in the American League.

“He keeps getting better, and he understands who he is, not only on this team but in the industry,” Cora said postgame. “He’s one of the best players in the league.”

Outside of Devers, Sunday was a frustrating day.

Still seeking to move past his midday malaise, Bello came this close to delivering a daytime gem but couldn’t keep the base paths clean. The 25-year-old was charged with four runs on eight hits and three walks over 6.1 innings, working around traffic in the first, fifth and sixth innings before ultimately getting burned his last time out in the seventh.

Bello allowed a run on a wild pitch in the fifth, a sacrifice fly in the sixth and then gave up two singles in the seventh before giving way to Justin Slaten, who allowed both inherited runners to score on an RBI double by Wenceel Perez and an RBI groundout by Mark Canha.

“Maybe I wasn’t as aggressive as I was at the beginning of the game and that might be the key for those baserunners, but I felt overall it was a good outing,” Bello said afterwards via translator Carlos Villoria Benítez.

Offensively the Red Sox got off to a great start before falling silent after the third inning. Coming off hitting two home runs on Saturday, Valdez kept his big weekend going by delivering a two-out RBI single to put the Red Sox ahead 1-0 in the first. Jarren Duran made it 2-0 with an RBI single in the second, and Devers scored Dominic Smith with his triple in the third.

But then the Tigers faced the minimum 14 batters between the third and seventh innings, and by then the Tigers had erased the deficit to take a 4-3 lead. It wasn’t until Devers’ game-tying home run in the eighth that the Red Sox showed any signs of life, and after that the Red Sox responded by loading the bases in the bottom of the ninth before Connor Wong flew out to send the game to extras.

The ninth almost featured what would have been perhaps the feel-good moment of the season.

Jamie Westbrook, a career minor league journeyman who has spent 11 seasons waiting for his shot, was called up to the big leagues on Sunday and made his debut in the bottom of the ninth after Cora inserted him as a pinch hitter with two outs and the game-winning run at second.

It’s hard to imagine a more pressure-packed spot for your first MLB plate appearance, but while Westbrook didn’t come up with the walk-off winner, he still drew a walk and gave his team a chance to win.

“It was nuts, if you’re going to get in there I guess it’s the best time, get thrown right into the fire,” Westbrook said. “Obviously we had a chance to win the game there so I was thinking have a good at-bat, but it was really cool, the crowd was loud, I got to 3-1 and I had to refocus, but it was awesome, everything I dreamed of, no doubt.”

Unfortunately for the Red Sox, a storybook ending wasn’t in the cards on Sunday.

Abreu twists ankle

Prior to Westbrook’s big at-bat, rookie outfielder Wilyer Abreu injured his right ankle in a freak accident in the dugout, slipping and tumbling down the dugout stairs. Westbrook subsequently batted for Abreu in the ninth inning, and Cora said Abreu will receive treatment over the next couple of days.

The good news is Abreu himself doesn’t seem too worried. He wasn’t wearing any kind of wrap in the clubhouse afterwards and doesn’t expect to be sidelined as a result of the accident.

“I feel good, I don’t think it’s anything important,” Abreu said via Benítez. “Maybe wrap it up but I don’t think it’s going to be something that will make me miss time.”

The Red Sox (30-30) will have an off-day Monday before opening a two-game series at Fenway Park against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/hMUHjzp