The Boston Red Sox dropped another series Wednesday night, this time against the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves by way of an 8-4 loss at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox dropped to 54-58 on the season, and the Braves improved to 66-46.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEWAY
One pitch is all it takes to lose a Major League Baseball game. Or, in the case of the Red Sox on Wednesday, a collection of pitches.
Just when it looked like the Red Sox offense was going to pull them into contention for a win, Boston's pitching staff allowed Atlanta to pull away. Over and over again.
Nick Pivetta was the first to allow Atlanta to cross the plate, serving up a cement mixer to Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna, who deposited the ball into the Green Monster seats for a three-run homer. Boston would go on to add a run, collecting a number of base hits and looking more comfortable. The Red Sox were in business.
In comes Darwinzon Hernandez, who promptly served up a two-run homer to Braves rookie Vaughn Grissom to give the Braves a 5-1 lead.
Then the Red Sox offense did it again. Back-to-back base hits by Bobby Dalbec and Jaylin Davis set the table for Tommy Pham, who destroyed a three-run home run to drag them back into the game, 5-4, with a pair of chances left to tie or win it.
In comes Ryan Brasier in the top of the eight and Atlanta smacks the ball around and adds another pair of runs -- effectively putting the game out of reach.
The Red Sox did not use the recipe for success, they winged it and got burned.
STARS OF THE GAME
-- Grissom collected his first career hit, RBI and home run all in the same at-bat. The 21-year-old took Hernandez deep for the milestones. He finished 2-for-4. Oh yeah, he stole a base too.
-- Ozuna was the most productive Atlanta hitter in this one, going 1-for-3 with a home run and sacrifice fly. He finished the night with 4 RBIs.
-- Alex Verdugo reached base in 3-of-4 at-bats in the series finale, walking twice and collecting a single. He improves his on-base percentage to .316 on the season.
WAGER WATCH
Ozuna's home run prop closed at +310 on DraftKings Sportsbook. A $100 bet on the Braves outfielder to hit a dinger Wednesday night would have paid out $410.
ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox will play a make-up game against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday at Fenway Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET and full coverage of the game will be available using NESN 360 following an hour of pregame coverage.
