The Boston Red Sox entered Saturday night with a .500 record after splitting the first two games of the series with the Seattle Mariners.
Without third baseman Rafael Devers, Boston's offense struggled once again in game three, scoring just once in the first nine innings, as center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela scored on a Pablo Reyes groundout.
Luckily, starting pitcher Kutter Crawford continued the streak of impressive performances from Boston's rotation, allowing just three hits and one run (unearned due to a Reyes throwing error) while striking out seven over six innings. Isaiah Campbell, Chris Martin and Greg Wessert all followed with scoreless innings.
As the game went into extras, Reyes drove in the automatic runner (Rafaela) but was caught stealing the next at-bat which proved costly with pinch-hitting catcher Reese McGuire doubling into right field. Designated hitter Masataka Yoshida's single through the infield instead scored just one run with Reyes out.
A two-run lead heading into the bottom of the 10th should've led to closer Kenley Jansen on the mound, but the Red Sox instead turned to Joely Rodriguez, who gave up an RBI single to his first batter. Two hitters later, Rodriguez allowed another single with a throwing error by right fielder Wilyer Abreu enabling the runner to advance to third. A fielder's choice resulted in a tie game and Rodriguez's exit.
Boston then turned to Justin Slaten for his professional debut, and he gave up the game-winning single to his first batter.
The decision to not use Jansen was a puzzling one to many, but manager Alex Cora confirmed after the game the game that the closer was unavailable, and Jansen himself explained that he's dealing with a bad back.
“I just woke up with a bad back again today," Jansen told reporters (transcribed by MassLive's Christopher Smith). "Tried to get ready but it wouldn’t allow me. So you’ve got to be smart. If I go out there and aggravate it, then it could be worse for a week or two. I’d rather miss one day or two so I can be back.”
Boston has been close to winning their last two matchups, but they have been unable to do so. It will become increasingly frustrating if they continue to waste solid outings from their rotation.
Cora's team has a chance to split the series with Seattle on Sunday.
