Well, that wasn’t an ideal way for the Boston Red Sox to finish out their series against the New York Yankees.
After a strong end to the first half of the season, David Price simply couldn’t find that spark in the Bronx. The left-hander kept things close, but he struggled to sit down batters — he recorded only one strikeout — and couldn’t stop leaving the ball over the plate.
Add that to the Red Sox’s lack of offense, and you have a 3-1 loss for Boston.
Let’s take a look at how it all went down.
GAME IN A WORD
Disappointing.
Looking at the scoreboard, this wasn’t a terrible loss. But when you dig deeper into the box score, the fact that Price couldn’t make his pitches and the offense mustered just three hits makes this one sting for the Red Sox.
IT WAS OVER WHEN …
The Red Sox couldn’t muster any offense against Masahiro Tanaka through the sixth inning.
Look, this Red Sox team is tough to count out in comeback situations, but it’s hard to score one run off the Yankees’ three-headed monster of a bullpen, let alone two. Unsurprisingly, Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman held off the Red Sox.
ON THE BUMP
— Price’s first-half issues returned in full force, as the left-hander couldn’t avoid the big inning and struggled to find a put-away pitch in two-strike counts. The Yankees tagged Price for three runs on five hits in the fourth inning, putting the Red Sox in an even more difficult position as Price’s pitch count rose to 82.
Price left in the sixth inning after allowing two consecutive two-out singles to Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury, ending the night with three runs on 11 hits with one walk and only one strikeout over 5 2/3 innings.
— Robbie Ross Jr. got Carlos Beltran to pop out to end the sixth and made quick work of his first two batters in the seventh. The left-hander struck out Alex Rodriguez and got Chase Headley to ground out, but he hit shortstop Didi Gregorius with two outs. That was Ross’ final batter, as Red Sox manager John Farrell favored a righty-on-righty matchup with Heath Hembree.
— Hembree did exactly what he was supposed to and got second baseman Starlin Castro to ground into a forceout. He left with one out in the eighth, finishing the night with one walk over 2/3 of an inning.
— Tommy Layne relieved Hembree and finished the inning with a fielder’s choice and a groundout.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Dustin Pedroia gave the Red Sox an early lead after hitting a solo home run in the first inning. The second baseman finished the night 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
— Sandy Leon (1-for-3) and Brock Holt (1-for-2) were the only other Red Sox to tally a hit. Travis Shaw (0-for-2) reached base on a walk in the second inning. Bryce Brentz replaced Holt in the eighth and walked in his only plate appearance.
David Ortiz (0-for-3) managed to tack on a walk to his hitless night in the ninth inning, too.
— Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Hanley Ramirez and Jackie Bradley Jr. all went hitless. Ouch.
TWEET OF THE NIGHT
It was pretty obvious what Price’s weakness was Sunday.
https://twitter.com/redsoxstats/status/754862660768915457
UP NEXT
The Red Sox get a day off Monday before heading to Fenway Park to take on the San Francisco Giants. Rick Porcello will be on the mound for Boston against the Red Sox’s old friend Jake Peavy.
Thumbnail photo via Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports Images
