There wasn’t much that went right for the Boston Red Sox during the seventh inning of their 8-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.
Michael Chavis, however, is under the belief a defensive mistake he made playing second base cost the Red Sox the game.
The Rays had runners in scoring position with one out when Chavis went to his right to field a Yandy Diaz hit near second base. Instead of throwing to first base for the sure out with the Red Sox already trailing 4-1, Chavis threw home. His throw took catcher Christian Vazquez off the plate, giving the Rays another run, and more importantly one additional out to work with.
Tampa Bay went on to score three more runs (six in the inning), extending its 2-1 lead to an effectively insurmountable advantage.
“I thought about the play before it was happening and I decided if it was hit to my right or left and it was hit decently hard or barreled, I was going to try and get him at home with (Mike) Zunino running. I knew he’s not the quickest guy, so I knew if I could get there quick enough and could make a good throw, that I’d have him,” Chavis told reporters in his postgame video conference.
“The ball bounced a little bit higher than I planned on or thought it would. When I had to jump for it, it took my momentum and I had to do a jump throw which is where it got messed up. I should have decided to go to first base at that point. But that’s on me. I pretty much lost the game for us, honestly. That’s pretty tough.
“It kind of just took the wind out of us. I felt like it was just a kick in the nuts, honestly, just plain and simple,” Chavis added. “I feel like we were battling, having good at-bats. I felt like the vibe in the dugout and the clubhouse and everything was really good. After that… it sucks. You could see it. I felt like the air was kind of taken out of us.”
The Red Sox will return to the diamond Wednesday to host the Rays. First pitch from Fenway Park is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
