3 takeaways from the Red Sox 5-4 loss to the Diamondbacks
By Matt McCarthy, 985TheSportsHub.com
The Red Sox dropped to 2-8 on the 2019 season in a 5-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks Saturday night.
W: Greg Holland (1-0)
L: Colton Brewer (0-1)
Here are three takeaways from the loss:
1. Red Sox bullpen finally shows up (in a bad way):
It seems like everything has gone wrong so far in 2019. It was only a matter of time until the Red Sox bullpen was added to that list.
Colton Brewer was tasked with holding a 4-4 lead in the bottom of the ninth, but was hit hard in the inning and ultimately gave up the game-winning hit to Carson Kelly.
Brewer gave up three hits in the frame and was bailed out in right field twice by Mookie Betts, who held Eduardo Escobar to a single on a ball hit down the line and then threw him out at home plate to temporarily save the game.
It wouldn’t matter. The Diamondbacks were all over Brewer. There was no fooling anyone.
2. Red Sox bats fail to deliver knockout punch:
The Sox scored three runs in the second inning, but Betts stranded two men in scoring position to end the frame. They had the bases loaded twice in the seventh, but only managed to scrape one run out of the inning on a sacrifice fly.
The Sox made a habit of breaking games open in 2018. They’ve failed to do that so far this year.
3. David Price helped his own cause:
Who says pitchers can’t hit?
.@DAVIDprice24 is currently batting 1.000 in 2019. pic.twitter.com/gzzRxyVJ3h
— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 7, 2019
The hit came as part of the three-run second inning, but Price gave those runs back in the bottom of the inning when the Diamondbacks plated four men.
Price gave up four runs over six innings of work. Red Sox starting pitchers have combined for just one quality start in 2019.
You can hear Matt McCarthy on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s own Hardcore Baseball podcast and on various 98.5 The Sports Hub programs. Follow him on Twitter @MattMcCarthy985.