Red Sox Notes: One ‘Bad’ Inning Spoils Chase Anderson’s Spot Start

The Boston Red Sox hoped to get out of Chase Anderson in a spot start on Thursday what they got out of Cooper Criswell the day prior.

It could have been that way for the Red Sox if it weren’t for one pitch Anderson threw to Cleveland Guardians star third baseman José Ramírez.

The veteran right-hander was locked in a lengthy battle with the five-time All-Star with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the second inning. Ramírez fouled off four straight cutters until he got what he was looking for on the 10th pitch of the at-bat.

Anderson left another cutter over the heart of the plate and Ramírez crushed it for a grand slam. It was the difference in Anderson’s outing and in a 6-4 loss for the Red Sox at Progressive Field.

“It was a good battle,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “He kept fouling off cutters and cutters until he got one he was able to handle. It’s tough in a sense. You’re trying to get 27 outs understanding where you’re at, and you’re one pitch from getting out of the inning and maybe give us three more outs but it didn’t happen.”

Anderson was forced into his first starting appearance of the season with Boston’s rotation depleted due to injuries. He had shown well over six relief appearances (13 innings), allowing four runs on 10 hits with eight strikeouts and one walk.

But Anderson uncharacteristically struggled with his control against the Guardians, which compounded issues in the second inning. Anderson hit a batter and walked two prior to letting up the monumental homer to Ramírez.

“He’s been very efficient. He’s been pounding the strike zone,” Cora said. “Just one bad inning there.”

Ramírez was the final batter Anderson faced. He ended up pitching just 1 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on three hits with three walks and no strikeouts.

It was somewhat the opposite of Criswell’s performance. But that’s the challenge when relying on spot starters to fill gaps in the rotation.

Here are more notes from Thursday’s Red Sox-Guardians game:

— The Red Sox finished off their road trip with a 4-2 record and are now 11-5 on the season away from Fenway Park.

“We lost the series, but we played well,” Cora said. “It was a good road trip. So, now we got to go home and figure that out.”

— Rafael Devers looked more like himself the last two games after missing five consecutive contests due to a knee injury. The Red Sox star went 6-for-8 with a home run against the Guardians.

“I know we talk about the knee, but I think the shoulder is where it’s supposed to be,” Cora said. “You got to be patient with those guys. You have to because at the end when they’re healthy or close to 100%, that’s what they do.”

— Cora went with an unusual infield alignment after Masataka Yoshida, who started the game on the bench for a fourth consecutive contest, and Enmanuel Valdez pinch hit for Pablo Reyes and Bobby Dalbec, respectively, in the top of the fifth.

In the bottom half of the frame, Cora had Connor Wong playing first base in place of Dalbec while Valdez took over at second, David Hamilton played shortstop and Ceddanne Rafaela spotted up at third.

— It was far from a clean performance behind the plate for Red Sox catcher Reese McGuire. McGuire committed two errors and the Guardians were successful in four out of their five stolen base attempts.

— The Red Sox return home to Fenway Park, where they host the Chicago Cubs on Friday for the first time in seven years. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus 90 minutes of pregame coverage, on NESN.