Red Sox Notes: White Sox Come Back In Walk-Off Win Over Boston

The Boston Red Sox took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning against the Chicago White Sox behind the solid pitching of starter Richard Fitts.

Fitts allowed just two singles while striking out five and walking one in five innings of work before leaving with right shoulder pain as he faced Miguel Vargas leading off the sixth at Rate Field.

Zack Kelly entered the game cold, completed a walk to Vargas, struck out the next batter he faced and then Luis Robert Jr. launched a down-the-middle 2-0 fastball into the bullpen to tie the game.

“It’s not the easiest thing, but it’s part of the game,” Kelly told reporters about entering the game without warming up in the pen. “Obviously, it’s a tough situation because you never want to see one of our guys go down, but ultimately, you still got to come in and go do your job. It was unfortunate that it happened.”

Despite being unable to pitch around the 2-2 count he inherited, Kelly said he felt good about most of his pitches — except the one that Robert lined to right.

“I just made one bad pitch to the wrong guy,” he said. “He made me pay for it. He’s not a guy you want to go middle-up to because, obviously, he can put the ball out of the ballpark. The 2-0 was supposed to be away, and it wasn’t.”

Red Sox manager Alex Cora supported Kelly when he spoke with reporters following the 3-2 loss.

“It’s very hard,” Cora said. “They’re used to warming up in the bullpen. You’re like in the middle of the island. Everybody watching you warming up. But he’s not making any excuses.”

Knotted 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth, Aroldis Chapman has his first blunder in a Red Sox uniform. Robert walked to lead off the inning, then stole second before Brooks Baldwin drove him in. Catcher Carlos Narváez didn’t get a throw off on the stolen base attempt. Cora told reporters it was because Narváez “couldn’t get a grip” on the ball.

The Red Sox had the chance to extend their lead throughout the game. They left nine men on base and went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

“We just have to cash in,” Cora said. “We’re swinging a lot, we’re chasing a lot. I think today was a little better. Obviously, the result is not the one we want. But as far as executing the plan, it was better.”

Here are more notes from Saturday’s Red Sox-White Sox game:

— Kristian Campbell went 0-for-3 at the plate with a strikeout and a walk, extending his streak of reaching base safely in his first 15 career games.

— Ceddanne Rafaela recorded his first extra-base hit of the season with a triple to center that scored Narváez. He finished the night with two hits in four at-bats and two runs scored.

— The Red Sox fell to 7-9 on the season and 2-2 when tied after the eighth inning. Boston fell to 4-1 when scoring first and 1-8 when scoring less than four runs in a game.

— The Red Sox look to avoid a series sweep to the White Sox on Sunday. First pitch from Rate Field is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. ET, and you can catch all the action on NESN following an hour of pregame coverage.