It took 12 innings to decide Sunday’s series finale at Fenway Park, but the Boston Red Sox put themselves in great position to wrap the game up in 11.
Jackie Bradley Jr. doubled to lead off the bottom half of the 11th inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, the potential game-winning run was erased one batter later when Marco Hernandez chopped a grounder to the right side of the infield. Instead of staying put, Bradley attempted to advance to third on the play, only to be thrown out by Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager. Los Angeles tacked on three runs in the next frame and ultimately claimed the three-game interleague set.
Bradley after the game revealed Boston did not have a contact play on. It simply was a misread by the veteran center fielder, who took full accountability for the mishap.
“I wasn’t necessarily committed to going on contact,” Bradley told reporters, per MassLive.com “First of all, I messed up. I messed up. But with that being said, my thought process was, he (Seager) was behind me, jockeying me to make sure I stayed close to the base. With a lefty in Marco being up, I thought they were going to be shifted a little bit more towards the middle.
“As I went back and looked at it (on video), as the pitch is being delivered, I see (Seager) shuffling towards the hole.”
Bradley’s aggressiveness was all the more perplexing given Mookie Betts and Rafael Devers were due up to bat following Hernandez. At this stage in their up-and-down season, the Red Sox can ill-afford to run into outs as they attempt to claw into the playoff picture.
Boston will try to avoid a third consecutive loss Monday night when it opens a four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park.
