The Boston Pink Sox wanted a collective response earlier than their collection finale with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and outfielder Tyler O’Neill answered the decision.
Boston entered Saturday evening’s interleague matchup at Dodger Stadium recent off a disappointing output from the lineup to start the collection. The Pink Sox went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring place all through Friday evening’s collection opener, giving the pitching employees only one run of manufacturing — which got here off a solo residence run from Jarren Duran.
But, with a possible three runs allowed by way of six innings from right-hander Brayan Bello, the chance to even up the collection and arrange a rubber match for Sunday was there for the taking. In reality, the Pink Sox had been inches away from crossing the end line — twice. Each instances it was O’Neill’s bat that almost prevented Los Angeles from securing an opportunity at a three-game sweep, nevertheless, it nonetheless wasn’t sufficient.
Boston fell to Los Angeles, 7-6 in 11 innings, pushing the Pink Sox again 6 1/2 video games again within the American League East race.
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O’Neill belted a pair of two-run residence runs, first within the seventh inning after which once more within the tenth inning, simply moments after ex-Pink Sox Kiké Hernández evened up the rating at 4-4 within the backside of the ninth. O’Neill ripped the sport’s momentum immediately from the palms of the Dodgers, giving Boston precisely what it wanted at simply the suitable time, however twice, the bullpen squandered a possibility to close the door for good.
The 29-year-old outfielder single-handedly matched Los Angeles’ run whole (4) from Friday evening, and it solely took two swings.
“We had the lead within the ninth and so they hit a homer towards among the finest closers within the large leagues,” Pink Sox supervisor Alex Cora stated postgame, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “We handed the baton all the best way to the ninth and had our anchor. It simply didn’t occur.”
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Kenley Jansen and Greg Weissert each allowed the Dodgers to show potential closeouts into game-altering rallies, conserving Boston from reaching the win column. What would’ve been an O’Neill celebratory evening grew to become the most recent Pink Sox head-scratcher, prompting questions concerning the pitching employees and the way the entrance workplace will deal with its depth earlier than the July 30 commerce deadline.
Listed here are extra notes from Saturday evening’s Pink Sox-Dodgers sport:
— Regardless of the loss, the Pink Sox nonetheless sit forward of the Kansas Metropolis Royals for the third and ultimate wild-card spot within the AL postseason race. Boston trails the Minnesota Twins by two video games and the New York Yankees by 4 1/2 video games.
— Boston starters have pitched six-plus innings within the final seven consecutive video games, nevertheless, the Pink Sox have gone 3-4 by way of the stretch.
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— The Pink Sox fell to 20-16 towards Nationwide League groups this season.
— Ex-Pink Sox Kiké Hernández delivered two game-tying hits to hang-out Boston in picture-perfect conditions and ship Los Angeles to the win column.
— Boston and Los Angeles will end their three-game set on Sunday evening with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET from Dodger Stadium. That collection finale shall be aired on ESPN’s “Sunday Evening Baseball.” The Pink Sox will return to the NESN airwaves on Monday evening to start a three-game set in Colorado towards the Rockies.
