Red Sox Notes: Missed Opportunities Continue To Hinder Boston’s Progress

For the Red Sox, Monday night’s contest against the Indians was a game of missed opportunities.

Boston had a number of chances to take and maintain a solid lead in the series opener against the Cleveland, but simply couldn’t get the job done in its 6-5 loss to the Indians. The Sox left nine men on base and went just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position before allowing Carlos Santana to crush a walk-off home run (and Boston fans’ hearts) for the Indians.

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Despite the loss, however, Alex Cora wasn’t entirely disappointed by the team’s performance.

“(Losing) really sucks,” he said, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “But at the same time, I think we did a lot of good things today that we haven’t done in a while, so that’s a positive.”

What specifically did he like, you ask?

“You saw the at-bats,” Cora said. “We did a good job against the starter, we did a good job against the bullpen … I mean it felt good all-around.”

That said, Cora isn’t content with falling short of the ultimate goal — winning.

“Obviously, it’s not cool that we lost,” he said. “We need to win games. There’s no moral victories in the big leagues. But as far as what I saw throughout the game, it was pretty good.”

But with time quickly ticking away in the American League wild-card race, the Sox’s opportunities to slide into the final wild card slot are growing slim.

Here are some more notes from Monday’s Red Sox-Indians game:

— The second American League wild-card slot is getting harder and harder for the Sox to reach.

Boston now is eight games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the second AL wild-card spot thanks to Monday night’s loss. And with 41 games left in the Sox’s season, the margin for error grows slimmer by the day.

— The Red Sox’s first-inning struggles continued Monday.

For the fourth game in a row, Boston allowed its opponent to score in the opening inning.

Eduardo Rodriguez allowed the Indians to strike first Monday, giving up a two-run blast to Franmil Reyes with one out in the first. But he’s not alone lately, as each of the last four starters have given up at least one first-inning run.

— Marcus Walden’s recent hot streak was smothered in the series opener.

Walden had gone 8 2/3 innings without giving up a hit before allowing Santana to launch a walk-off solo shot, per Red Sox Stats.

— Meanwhile, Sam Travis’ hot streak continued.

Despite not being in the starting lineup, Travis cranked a two-out double to left field in the eighth inning during his only at-bat of the night. He’s now 18-for-58 (.310) since being recalled by the Sox.