Even players with no ceiling are bound to make a mistake or two. And that’s exactly what happened Sunday for Xander Bogaerts.
The Boston Red Sox shortstop continued his torrid pace at the plate, going 2-for-5 with an RBI. But his rough day in the field was one of the main stories from Sunday’s 7-4 10-inning loss to the Minnesota Twins.
Bogaerts made two fielding errors, including an especially costly errant throw to first base in the sixth inning, which allowed Robbie Grossman to score. Eduardo Escobar then made the Red Sox pay even further with an RBI single in the next at-bat. That all came after Bogaerts made an error in the second inning, which set up the Twins’ second run.
But one rough game in the field is no reason to panic.
“Those things are bound to happen, it’s baseball,” Red Sox starting pitcher Rick Porcello told reporters, via CSNNE.com. “… He’s a phenomenal player.”
Let’s take a look at some more notes from Sunday’s game.
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— Speaking of Porcello, the Red Sox right-hander didn’t have the best game against the Twins, but it was a step in the right direction. Sunday was the first time Porcello had pitched seven complete innings since a May 6 loss to the New York Yankees.
The Twins did score four runs off Porcello, but only one was earned due to Bogaerts’ two errors. Porcello only allowed five hits while striking out five en route to a no decision.
“I thought Rick was very strong today,” Boston manager John Farrell told reporters, via CSNNE.com. “He was efficient with his pitch count.”
—Â Matt Barnes came away with the loss after he allowed a walk-off three-run home run to Max Kepler in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Farrell had multiple bullpen options for the 10th, but he elected to use Barnes instead of closer Craig Kimbrel. When asked about his decision, Farrell told reporters he has “complete confidence in (Barnes).”
Perhaps weighing into that decision, too, was Kimbrel’s 3.52 ERA when he throws in non-save situations.
— The Red Sox never seem to be out of games thanks to their offense. That was the case Sunday, as they trailed the Twins 4-1 entering the eighth inning but tied the game thanks to Minnesota’s two-run error on a Bogaerts ground ball and David Ortiz’s double play with the bases loaded that tacked on another run.
The Red Sox still were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, however. While it wasn’t with a runner in scoring position, one of Boston’s best chances came in the top of the ninth after Chris Young led off the inning with a single. The struggling Travis Shaw then was asked to bunt Young into scoring position, but he bunted into a double play.
“I called for the bunt,” Farrell told reporters, via CSNNE.com. “Left on left. Granted, it’s not something we typically call for him. But the way he’s been swinging the bat of late, we’re looking to move the runner.”
Thumbnail photo via Brad Rempel/USA TODAY Sports Images
