Red Sox Pitcher Isn’t Concerned With Role Expectation After Loss Vs. A’s

The Red Sox have needed to adjust on countless occasions throughout the season, and that remained the case during Game 2 of Boston’s three-game series with the Athletics in Oakland on Tuesday night.

With the starting rotation still awaiting the returns of Chris Sale, Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock, Red Sox manager Alex Cora once again ran with a relief pitcher to open up the contest, handing the ball over to rookie Joe Jacques. And while the adjustment of starting a game for a reliever isn’t traditional, Jacques made no excuses after a rough second inning on the mound.

“I did it in Worcester two times. It’s really no different, just try to treat it like a normal seventh inning or whatever,” Jacques told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “Just wasn’t as sharp with the slider I think.”

Jacques added: “Just gotta get the job done, didn’t really get it done tonight.”

The left-hander allowed three earned runs, all coming off home runs from Ryan Noda and JJ Bleday, after a clean first inning. That gave Oakland all of its run production and enough to make it out with a 3-0 victory to even the series and set up a rubber match for Wednesday’s series finale.

Disappointed by the ultimate result, Jacques’ rough second inning wasn’t to blame afterward, according to Cora, who instead highlighted Boston’s lackluster offensive output: five base hits, going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

“The pitching part of it, I think we did a pretty good job,” Cora said, per NESN. “Three earned runs over eight innings. … It was only three runs. Offensively, we didn’t do much today.”