Red Sox strike out 20 times, lose 4-2 in extra-innings to the Twins
The Red Sox opened a crucial three-game weekend series with the Twins on Friday night. Boston essentially needed to sweep the series to remain alive in the playoff hunt.
Instead, the Red Sox offense went silent once again, striking out 20 times in a 12-inning, 4-2 loss to the Twins.
With the game tied 1-1 in the 12th inning, Cooper Criswell surrendered the first of three singles in the frame, starting with Byron Buxton’s single through the left side.
With runners at first and third, Trevor Larnach slapped a high chopper just out of reach of Criswell, ricocheting off his glove, scoring the go-ahead run. Matt Wallner’s RBI single made it a two-run game before the Twins extended their lead to three thanks to a sacrifice fly.
Boston’s second run of the game came in the 12th inning, courtesy of a Connor Wong RBI-groundout. Trevor Story struck out to end the game—the team’s 20th strikeout of the game, tying a franchise record.
The Red Sox were a disastrous 1-for-19 with runners in scoring position, stranding 17 runners on base.
“We had plenty of chances; we didn’t cash in,” said Alex Cora. “Teams, at this stage, they’re pitching to the ‘blue,’ and you either cover it with your ‘B’ swing or take it, and right now, we’re not there. This is how it works—sometimes you’re going to cash in and sometimes you don’t. From our end, we consider ourselves a good offensive team, and lately, we haven’t been.
“The numbers are right there. We had plenty of changes. It just didn’t happen.”
Twins starter David Festa kept the Sox guessing by tossing five innings, giving up one run off four hits with three walks and six strikeouts. The Red Sox swung and missed 46 times, a league high on Friday.
“Frustrating man, it’s as simple as that,” Story said. “It’s kind of hard to believe at this point that this is the way we’re playing offensively. It’s hard to imagine because I know the type of guys we have, the type of hitters we have. But we’re just in a funk right now that we can’t shake. Maybe (we’re pressing). I don’t know. Obviously, we’ve shown to be a much better offense than the last month, and I think that’s more a reflection of who we are as an offense. But we just haven’t been able to get it done.
“It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is, (whether) it’s trying too hard or whatever. If you could pinpoint it, you could kind of solve right there. But just collectively, it’s super frustrating.”
Prior to the Twins series, the Red Sox scored just five runs down in St. Pete; they also struck out 33 times while walking twice. Boston had a nightmare .130 on-base percentage, tied for the lowest mark over a three-game series since 1909.
“I lived it for 13 years [as a player],” said Cora to reporters before the game. “The whole chasing hits; it doesn’t work. I think controlling the strike zone and looking for pitches in certain areas works right. A walk works; just put together a good at-bat.
“That’s what I’m trying to get us to. And it hasn’t happened.”
With Craig Breslow in his first full season as chief baseball officer and Cora earning an extension this year, someone is likely going to take the fall for the Red Sox second-half collapse. Offensively, Boston has been anemic; hitting coach Pete Fatse could be on the hot seat.
The Red Sox could replace him with Dillion Lawson, their minor league hitting coordinator. He had spent time as the Yankees hitting coach before he was let go at the end of last season and hired by Boston.
Richard Fitts tossed another five scoreless frames, yielding five hits while walking one and striking out three batters in his outing. Fitts is the first pitcher in Sox history to toss five-plus innings in his first three career starts without allowing an earned run.
According to Statcast, Fitts' fastball averaged 93.5 mph on Friday and generated four whiffs on 17 swings. His other four swinging strikes came courtesy of his slider.
The rookie righty put his team in a position to win; unfortunately, the offense was asleep at the wheel. Resulting in the Red Sox offense to express frustration for not being able to score runs and help their pitchers win games.
"Yeah, it does for sure,” said Story. “The staff has done a great job. They’ve given us a lot of chances to win games, and we just haven’t found a way to get that big hit and get it done. Earlier in the year, we found a way to get it done, and now we’re just not doing that.”
The Red Sox had the winning run on third base in the ninth, 10th, and 11th innings. They also had the bases loaded in the eighth inning. In each scenario, Sox couldn’t produce, stranding runners and opportunities to win.
The Sox are now five games out of the third wild card spot with only eight games remaining.
