The first road trip of the season has been absolutely abysmal for the Boston Red Sox, and they closed out their four-game series with the Oakland Athletics on a frustrating note. Eduardo Rodriguez didn’t go deep into his start, the defense made some atrocious plays, and the offense left way too many men on base. It all added up to an ugly loss to drop the Red Sox to 2-6 on the young season.
Boston Red Sox Lose…Again
The game was a pain to watch, but it actually started out on a high note. The Red Sox loaded the bases in the top of the first and scored two runs after Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Brett Anderson walked in two runs. One inning later, J.D. Martinez launched a solo shot to give the Red Sox a 3-0 lead after three innings.
That’s when everything went wrong. Eduardo Rodriguez gave up a three-run blast to Stephen Piscotty in the bottom of the third to tie up the game. The Red Sox couldn’t do anything in the top of the fourth, but Oakland added three more in the bottom of the fourth. The big play of the inning was when Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. allowed two runs to score after both players let a fly ball land right between them. This is an inexcusable error for little leaguers, never mind two of the best fielders at their respective positions.
Rodriguez should have been out of the inning right then, but the young lefty finished his game allowing six runs in 3.2 innings of work. This marks yet another instance in which the Red Sox starter couldn’t earn a quality start. So far, Chris Sale is the only one to pull off the feat.
The Red Sox had plenty of time to get back in this one but ultimately couldn’t do it. The bats fell silent after the third inning, as the team went quietly into the night for their sixth loss of the season.
