One loss is one loss, of course, but throughout the course of any season, some losses stick out in your mind as worse than others. It’s early, but this felt like one of those losses. The Red Sox got a phenomenal start from Clay Buchholz (6.2 IP, 0 ER). They played really good defense (with one exception). They pushed for a late rally and got David Ortiz to the plate as the winning run. And it wasn’t enough.
At least it’s easy to pinpoint the blame. This one lays squarely at the usually capable feet of Koji Uehara and Craig Kimbrel, with small assists from Josh Rutledge and Christian Vazquez along the way in a disastrous eighth inning.
Top Play (WPA): Rather than pick one specific play, let me walk you through the top of the eighth inning. With the Red Sox leading 1-0, John Farrell logically went to Koji Uehara to face the bottom of Toronto’s order. Sure, Junichi Tazawa had thrown just two pitches to get the final batter in the seventh, but I think blaming Farrell for going to Koji here is revisionist history.
Anyway, Uehara promptly surrendered a single to Kevin Pillar. Josh “Buttledge” Rutledge made a nice play to stop the ball from getting to the outfield … then made a horrendous throw to first base, allowing Pillar to advance to second (.145). Next, the Jays pinch-hit Justin Smoak for Ryan Goins, and Koji walked him (.067). Not great, but not the end of the world, especially since it set up the double play.
But that was not to be. With Michael Saunders at the plate, Christian Vazquez allowed a brutal passed ball that let Pillar and Darwin Barney to (pinch running) advance, good for .119 WPA for the Jays. Saunders then put the ball in play and drove in a run, grounding out to Pedroia (-.048).
Then, Koji really lost it. He hit Josh Donaldson (.026) to put runners on first and second again, then walked Jose Bautista (who had a great at-bat) to load them up (.109). Farrell had seen enough and went to Craig Kimbrell — a move for which he should be commended.
It didn’t work. After blowing away Edwin Encarnacion (-.145, bottom play of the game) and giving Red Sox fans hope, Kimbrel walked Troy Tulowitzki to make it 2-1 (.226, top play of the game), then gave up a two-RBI single to Russell Martin to make it 4-1. He finally retired Goins, the ninth batter of the inning.
It was just as brutal as it sounds.
Bottom Play (WPA): That Encarnacion strikeout in the eighth was technically the worst play of the day by WPA. Next up was David Ortiz’s strikeout looking to end the game with the score 4-3 and a runner on first (-.102). If you think that sounds out of character, you’re right:
According to @ESPNStatsInfo, that was the first time David Ortiz struck out to end a game in a walk-off situation.
— Ryan Hannable (@RyanHannable) April 18, 2016
Key Moment: There were a ton of key moments in this game because both teams hit into approximately 45 double plays. Both Buchholz and J.A. Happ were phenomenal, as were both team’s middle infielders.
Also, the entire top of the eighth, which sucked.
Also, the entire bottom of the ninth, which looked really promising, then sucked.
If you need a pick-me-up, you can watch the first true Jackie Bradley Jr. gem of the season, at least.
Trend to Watch: For the second game in a row, the Red Sox tried to rally in the ninth and Travis Shaw came up big. It’s great that this team clearly has some fight, and it was nice to see the middle of the order come up big in a high-pressure situation yet again.
But for the second game in a row, it wasn’t enough, and the Red Sox’s bullpen — a supposed strength of this team — looks pretty shoddy right now. There’s absolutely no need to panic, but Kimbrel can’t seem to get his stuff under control with regularity so far this season. Add in some uninspiring middle relievers like Noe Ramirez, Matt Barnes and Robbie Ross, and it’s easy to see why a team like the Blue Jays was able to split a series that the Red Sox very easily could have swept.
Coming Next: The Red Sox play host to the Tampa Bay Rays, and will send Joe Kelly to the mound against Drew Smyly. Tampa’s offense is a far cry from Toronto’s, so hopefully the Red Sox will be able to push past the .500 mark and stay above it once and for all.
Photo by Mark L. Baer/USA Today Sports Images