David Hamilton Takes Accountability For Miscue In Red Sox’s Loss

The Red Sox infield still was adjusting to life without Trevor Story this week, but everyone knows they must step up in the veteran’s absence.

That was the message Alex Cora sent after Boston’s loss to the Orioles at Fenway Park that clinched a series sweep for Baltimore. Players like David Hamilton, Enmanuel Valdez and Pablo Reyes will need to be relied upon with Story set to undergo shoulder surgery that will take him out for six months.

What Boston needs to eliminate are plays similar to the ones from Thursday’s loss. The Red Sox held a 2-1 lead heading into the top of the eighth inning, but Pablo Reyes let Jackson Holliday reach on first after allowing a ball pass through his legs. Joely Rodriguez struck out Gunnar Henderson, and the inning seemed to be over with 4-6-3 double play. But after David Hamilton received the ball from Ceddanne Rafaela, who entered the game at second base, the Red Sox infielder missed the bag before tossing to first.

“I just got to the bag and Rafa was pretty close to it so I just assumed that he would get there himself,” Hamilton told reporters, per The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey. “That’s wrong of me to assume that. I’ve gotta be there and be ready to turn the play.”

Alex Cora turned to Greg Weissert, who gave up a two-run home run to Anthony Santander on the first pitch. The matchup went into extra innings where the Red Sox fell 9-4.

“We consider Hammy a good defender,” Cora told reporters, per McCaffrey. “We’ve been talking about him for a while. We’re going to move them around and maximize the lineup and the platoon. We’ve just got to keep getting him repetitions there. He’s a good defender. He is. And we’ll keep running him out there.”

Hamilton can look for a rebound appearance this weekend as the Red Sox begin a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels at Fenway Park on Friday. First pitch for the first game of the series is scheduled at 7:10 p.m. ET, and you can catch full coverage on NESN starting at 6 p.m.