Four Real? Red Sox keep it close, lose in extras to Brewers 4-5-14 (VIDEO)
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| Game 5: Sox lose in extras |
Boston, Ma- Clay Buchholz wanted to start off the season like he did last year, but he struggled from the start and it cost the Red Sox Saturday night versus Milwaukee. True, the Sox had chances to win the game and eventually lost in extra frames, but the Brewers defense gave them plenty of opportunities to keep it close. Here are the four at bats that changed the game:
1) Top of the second inning and the Red Sox are already down 1-0. Buchholz is hopeful for a better second inning after a three hit first inning, but the baseball gods can be rough at times, and Mark Reynolds and Carlos Gomez go deep to push the lead to 3-0.
2) Bottom of the third inning, and the Sox are down 6-2. The game could get out of hand if Boston doesn't strike soon. After a Grady Sizemore walk, Dustin Pedroia grounds a slow roller to Aramis Ramirez at third and it somehow gets between Ramirez's wickets for an error. Daniel Nava follows up with a tailor made double play roller to short, but Jean Segura bobbles the transfer and can only get the out at first. The Brewers should be out of the inning, but errors let the game continue, and Mike Napoli makes Milwaukee pay with a three run moonshot to center field. 6-5 Brewers.
3) Bottom of the sixth inning and Boston is still down a run. With two outs and Xander Bogaerts on third, Jon Herrera grounds a ball to Jean Segura at short and he misplays it, giving another run away to Boston and tying the game at 6.
4) Extra innings. Top of the 11th, and Burke Badenhop toes the rubber for Boston. He gives up a weak ground rule double down the right field line to Khris Davis. Logan Schafer steps up with a chance to give Milwaukee a lead, and waits until he sees the third pitch of the at bat to whack a double off the base of the Monster to plate Davis and give the game to the visitors.
While this game started off with a lot of offense, it slowed down quickly. Most of the damage from both teams came early, but when the temperature cooled off, so did the bats. Buchholz, who gave up 13 hits in just over four innings pitched, left way too many balls up in the zone, and the Brewers capitalized on his mistakes. Overall, Milwaukee had 19 hits and had 23 men in scoring position on the night, scoring six of the men. It was not a night to remember in Boston, as the weather made many fans want to leave early, and Buchholz's performance had them heading home before the 4th inning. Let's hope the Red Sox can rebound tomorrow as they try to salvage the third game of the series tomorrow afternoon when aces Jon Lester and Yovani Gallardo face off at 1:35pm.
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