The Red Sox mounted an eighth-inning comeback, but it wasn't enough to beat the Padres on a frigid April afternoon at Fenway Park.
The Boston Red Sox fell to the San Diego Padres on Saturday afternoon, 3-2, the final in a freezing Fenway Park, to even the series at one game apiece.
The Red Sox are now 2-6 on the young season.
Here's everything you need to know:
Connelly Early got the start for the Red Sox, and right from the jump, it was apparent the 24-year-old rookie didn't have his best stuff. After striking out Fernando Tatis Jr to kick off the game, Early would have to work around a pair of walks to escape the first inning unscathed.
However, it wasn't long until the walks would come back to bite Early. In the top of the second, Padres catcher Freddy Fermin worked a leadoff walk off, advancing to third on a single from Ty France, later coming around to score on a Bryce Johnson RBI groundout to give San Diego a 1-0 lead.
The Red Sox offense was quick to strike back against Padres starter Randy Vasquez. A Willson Contreras single, followed by a Wilyer Abreu walk, had the Sox in business to kick off the bottom of the second. A Caleb Durbin fielder's choice moved Contreras to third and then Marcelo Mayer launched a fly ball to center that hung up just enough in the frigid Fenway air for Johnson to make the catch and score Contreras, tying the game at 1-1.
The back-and-forth affair continued, though the Padres jumped on Early in the top of the third. San Diego DH Miguel Andujar worked a ten-pitch at bat before ripping a one-out double to left, followed by a Manny Machado walk. Andujar would go on to score on a double off the bat of Fermin to once again give the Padres a one-run lead.
Ultimately, Early would give way to the bullpen after 88 pitches in just four innings, allowing just the two runs on three hits while walking four and striking out four.
When asked postgame about his command, Early cited the weather as a possible reason for his lack of command throughout the start: "I struggled getting a grip on the ball a little bit." Early said, "I got to do a better job figuring out how to keep my hand warm and be able to execute from pitch one."
The Boston bullpen did their job, keeping the Padres offense at bay to allow the Sox offense to get going and tie the game, something they would eventually do in the eighth:
With Padres setup man Adrian Morejon on the mound, Ceddanne Rafaela and Roman Anthony opened the eight with singles, putting the Red Sox in a great position to tie the game. Trevor Story struck out to give Morejon the first out of the inning and then Alex Cora went to his bench, pinch-hitting utilityman Andruw Monasterio for Jarren Duran against the left-handed Morejon. Monasterio worked a nine-pitch at-bat where he fouled off five Morejon pitches before he was finally able to do something Cora had been preaching all offseason: putting the ball in play and forcing the opponent to make the play.
Monasterio hit a weak grounder right back at Morejon, who threw a sinker to Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth. Cronenworth was unable to handle the throw for what would have been an inning-ending double play, allowing Rafaela to come around to tie the game. "He did an amazing job against a tough lefty, just battling, putting the ball in play...extending the game," Cora said postgame about Monasterio's at-bat.
Sox closer Aroldis Chapman entered in the ninth with the game tied and made quick work of Cronenworth and pinch-hitter Nick Castellanos for the first two outs of the inning. Tatis then ripped a double over the head of Rafaela with Ramon Laureano hitting a go-ahead single to put the Padres up 3-2.
First-year San Diego manager Craig Stammen then turned to one of the best closers in all of baseball, Mason Miller, who made quick work of Wilyer Abreu, Masataka Yoshida, and Marcelo Mayer, striking out the side, securing the win for the Padres.
The Red Sox (2-6) will look to take the series from the Padres (3-5) in Sunday afternoon's series finale, first pitch from Fenway Park set for 1:35 p.m. ET.
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