Recap - another Red Sox bullpen meltdown

Jim Monaghan
Content Coordinator

Another game...another bullpen disaster.

In an all-too-familiar scenario this 2019 season, the Red Sox offense rallied, only to have the bullpen blow it in the ninth as Boston fell to the White Sox 8-7 Wednesday afternoon at Fenway Park.

Photo courtesy of USA Today
Chris Sale put the Sox in an early 3-0 hole giving up three singles, a double and hitting a batter in the top of the first inning.

The Red Sox closed to 3-2 in the bottom of the inning on a two-run homer by J.D. Martinez, only to see Chicago get those runs back in the top of the third.

Sale (pictured) went six innings in the no-decision outing, charged with five runs on six hits and a walk. He struck out ten, marking the tenth time he's reached double digits in strikeouts this year.

Martinez doubled home another run in the seventh and the Red Sox rallied to take a 7-6 lead scoring three times in the eighth inning on a fielder's choice, and a two-RBI single by Xander Bogaerts.

Enter Matt Barnes for the top of the ninth.

Exit the lead in the top of the ninth.

Barnes surrendered two singles and a home run to give the White Sox the ultimate 8-7 win.

Argue about the validity of the blown save stat, but only the hapless New York Mets have more blown saves than the Red Sox in 2019. Matt Barnes has one third of Boston's blown saves this year.

This team is going nowhere in 2019 without some kind of a fix at the back end of the bullpen.

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