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Red Sox reactions: Roger Clemens’ son the hero; Boston is 4-8 in one-run games
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- Red Sox reactions: Roger Clemens’ son the hero; Boston is 4-8 in one-run games
BOSTON — Instant reactions from a close 4-3 loss for the Red Sox (18-17) , who are back to just one game above .500 and are 9-7 at Fenway this season:
1) In what makes for a cool story if you're anybody other than the Red Sox , Roger Clemens' son was a hero in a game played at Fenway Park. Forty-one years after "The Rocket" first donned a Red Sox uniform, his son, Kody, broke a sixth-inning tie with a two-run homer off Hunter Dobbins that put the Twins up for good . The Clemens family was in attendance in a suite.
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The Red Sox are now 4-8 in one-run games this season. Twelve of their first 35 (34.3%) have been decided by a single run.
2) Dobbins, who was very good in his first two big league starts, cruised early, then hit a wall late. The rookie retired nine of the first 10 he faced before running into trouble in the fourth ( Ty France 's groundout tied the game after two hits), fifth (escaped a bases-loaded jam) and sixth (allowed three runs and two hits while walking a batter and hitting another). Dobbins — who allowed four earned on seven hits while striking out two in 5 â…” innings — didn't have a disastrous line. But it's clear Minnesota figured him out as the game went along. He has a 3.78 ERA in three outings.
3) Just like Friday night, Boston's bats waited to come alive until Minnesota went to its bullpen . Bailey Ober allowed just one run in the first six innings but a rain delay — and struggles from Brock Stewart — paved the way for the Red Sox to get back into the game in the seventh. The Sox closed the gap from 4-1 to 4-3 on a Jarren Duran RBI triple followed by a Rafael Devers RBI single. They had two more hits but couldn't tie it in the eighth.
In the ninth, Ceddanne Rafaela led off with a single but electric closer Jhoan Duran got Jarren Duran (no relation) to ground out sharply, won a battle against Devers with a strikeout and then after intentionally walking Alex Bregman , got Wilyer Abreu (0-for-5) to fly out to end it.
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4) There was a rain delay, truly for no reason . Umpires called for a halt in play with one out in the top of the seventh and the grounds crew brought the tarp onto the field, but it stopped raining very, very quickly. In all, it was a one-hour, 12-minute delay — and a gigantic waste of time.
5) It's unusual that a foul ball can change a game. But that's what happened in the eighth inning when the Red Sox looked to have a successful double steal with Romy Gonzalez and David Hamilton on base and Connor Wong dribbled a ball foul. On the next pitch, Wong grounded into an inning-ending double play that vanquished the threat.
6) The Red Sox are losing something defensively at first base with Gonzalez manning the position . Remember, before last season (93 innings), he had never played first in the majors before. He did have three hits, though, and is now hitting .319 with an .820 OPS.
7) Any offensive struggles from Rafaela are going to be magnified because of Roman Anthony's existence . Rafaela is again sputtering; he was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts in the loss and broke a 15-at-bat hitless streak with a ninth-inning single.
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8) Three more strikeouts for Trevor Story (1-for-4) on Saturday means he has punched out 16 times in his last 11 games and 50 plate appearances.
9) Boston has used its running game to constantly put pressure on opponents and manufacture offense so far this year. Entering Saturday, they led the American League with 42 steals, their most in the Live Ball Era (since 1920).
But an ill-fated attempt was a momentum killer in the fourth. Gonzalez hit a one-out single, then was gunned down by ex-Sox catcher Christian Vázquez for the second out for the inning. David Hamilton flied out to end the frame.
The Twins gave Boston a break on the bases, in the eighth, however, when DaShawn Keirsey Jr. ran into an out at home on a chopper to Alex Bregman.
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10) Devers had three hits, matching that total for only the third time this year. He had two RBIs as well.
Duran doubled and tripled, but otherwise, the offense didn't do much. Boston left 10 on base.
11) In Sunday's rubber game, the Red Sox will have their ace on the mound. Lefty Garrett Crochet (3-2, 2.05 ERA) will get the start opposite righty Chris Paddack (0-3, 5.60 ERA). First pitch is at 1:35 p.m. ET.
The Red Sox then have Monday off before welcoming Texas into town for a three-game series.
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Read the original article on MassLive .
Read the original article on MassLive .
