BALTIMORE -- Many factors contributed to the Red Sox’ 9-5 loss to the Orioles on Sunday afternoon. But one play in particular was emblematic of the club’s disastrous 10-game road trip.
In a scoreless game in the second inning, Christian Vázquez hit a two-out double off Orioles starter Jordan Lyles. Red Sox outfielder Jaylin Davis then roped a line drive single through the left side, but Vázquez momentarily retreated back to second base instead of running at contact. He only got to third base instead of scoring on the play, but he likely would have scored if he had run on Davis’ hit. The next batter, Trevor Story, struck out, stranding two of the 10 runners Boston left on base in a 9-5 loss.
Vázquez’s mental error was particularly costly for an offense that scored just 31 runs on a 10-game road trip during which it won only three games. The explanation? The catcher thought there was only one out in the inning.
“It was on me,” Vázquez said.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora isn’t one to air his players out publicly, but he was understandably frustrated with Vázquez after the game. The Sox have been unable to capitalize on the lion’s share of their scoring opportunities since the start of the road trip last weekend, so throwing away a scoring chance on a mental error was unacceptable.
“He knows he missed it. He knows he made a mistake,” Cora said. “Vázquez’s, obviously. He’ll be the one to accept it. Even when you’re playing well, that can’t happen. When you’re not playing well, that cannot happen. He knows it. There’s no need to address it.”
The Red Sox are five games under .500 in large part due to an offense that has come nowhere close to preseason expectations. Boston has lost a ton of close games, including four one-run affairs in the seven losses on the road trip. Cora isn’t questioning his team’s effort. It’s just a matter of execution.
“As a staff, we’ve got to keep pushing them to be better,” Cora said. “Us, as a staff, we’ve got to be better. Hopefully it starts on Tuesday.”
Vázquez did give the Red Sox a jolt on a couple of occasions Sunday, throwing out two would-be base stealers before Baltimore broke things open with a six-run sixth inning. But those moments mattered little after he cost his team early.
“That can happen anytime. It’s part of baseball,” Vázquez said. “I need to get better at knowing the outs. That’s simple.”
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