The Boston Red Sox failed to redeem themselves Saturday night by losing for the second consecutive time against the Arizona Diamondbacks, kicking off a critical eight-game homestand at Fenway Park.
This time, however, Boston didn't allow Arizona's lethal offense, which totaled an MLB-leading 200 RBIs since the All-Star break entering the matchup, to flee away with the scoreboard. Kutter Crawford put forth a strong effort to set the tone by tossing five innings while allowing two earned runs off three hits, keeping the scoring differential (very) feasible for the lineup. Yet... that still wasn't enough, dragging the Red Sox to a 4-1 defeat and putting the team four games back of the American League wild card race.
"Didn't get ahead as much as I wanted to, didn't throw enough strikes," Crawford told reporters, as seen on NESN's postgame coverage. "I got in a little trouble there in the fourth and fifth, and (Eugenio) Suárez put a good swing on the ball. But yeah, we're all pretty mediocre. ... For the most part, I felt like I competed pretty well -- every single pitch. I just wasn't in the zone enough."
Boston's lineup didn't assist Crawford as the Red Sox were no-hit by Arizona's Zac Gallen for 4 1/3 innings until Connor Wong -- with an opposite-field bloop single -- got the offense on the hit column. The ovation that long-awaited first base knock prompted by the Fenway Park crowd wasn't enough to energize Boston's bat, nor was anything else. Nobody in the lineup recorded more than a single hit, five Red Sox hitters logged hitless performances, and the team went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, leaving eight men on base.
"It's definitely frustrating," Crawford said, per NESN. "These fans paid a lot of money to come support us night in, night out, day in, day out. So yeah, it's disappointing we can't play better for them."
Still unable to capitalize on their home-field advantage, the Red Sox dropped to 29-34 in games played at Fenway Park this season. Boston will aim to keep Arizona from busting out the brooms in Sunday afternoon's series finale before turning the page.
