The Boston Red Sox lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 in their series opener on Tuesday night at Fenway Park, and while Boston's offense definitely could've done more, their defense proved costly.
A two-run error by first baseman Dominic Smith, who failed to catch a toss from second baseman Enmanuel Valdez, led to two unearned runs crossing the plate, and putting the Red Sox down 3-1 in the fourth inning.
After the game, Smith wanted to explain the error.
"You have to play clean baseball, like I said a few weeks ago," Smith said. "[It's] unfortunate. [It was a] tough play up the line. [I'm] not trying to get my arm knocked off, not trying to go on the injured list. It's very unfortunate. It's something that I probably make more often than not, and they scored two runs. We had opportunities to score back. We didn't score, and we lost the ball game... You could rewatch the replay. The ball is in the baseline, and I'm reaching to make the play while not getting injured and getting hit. So, it's not just a routine play."
It's interesting wording from Smith, considering manager Alex Cora said that the team needs to make the routine plays to help out the pitching staff.
With Garrett Cooper designated for assignment, Smith will likely play a majority of the games at first base for Boston until Triston Casas returns from injury, so he needs to clean up these mistakes.
