Boston's bullpen picks up where Crawford's bid for perfection leaves off

BOSTON -- Kutter Crawford's attempt to emerge from a vicious, four-start slump was literally perfect for the first 16 batters of Tuesday’s contest against the Rangers at Fenway Park.

But the next four Rangers reached base, and Boston’s bullpen suddenly was thrust into the fire in an effort to make sure a six-run lead didn’t disappear entirely.

Though Cam Booser (two bases-loaded walks and a hit while not retiring a batter) had a rough time of it when he replaced Crawford with one out in the sixth, the rest of the ‘pen had his back on a night the Red Sox pulled out an eventful 9-4 victory.

With a lead that soared to 6-0 on Connor Wong’s three-run homer in the fifth whittled down to 6-4, Lucas Sims got four important outs, including a strikeout to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth. Bailey Horn got three outs, including a biggie against Corey Seager, one night after the dangerous lefty slugger had taken him deep.

“That was obviously a big moment,” said Sims, acquired at the Trade Deadline. “As a reliever, those are the moments you live for. Big spot, and in a way, game on the line. It’s a big moment, being able to come through and kind of stop the momentum that they had, and get us in the dugout.”

Sims pumped his fist with excitement after the big punchout, signaling what time of year it is.

“That’s why we traded for him. because we felt like stuff-wise, he’s really good. His slider is one of the best in the league,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “They’re going to pitch, all of them. They’re going to be part of this.”

With 44 games left in the season, the Red Sox (63-55) trail the Yankees by 6 1/2 games in the American League East and the Royals by just one in the chase for the third AL Wild Card spot.

Considering Crawford had a 6-1 lead and was perfect one out into that sixth, Cora could have allowed him to escape trouble rather than going to the bullpen.

But Cora has promised to manage aggressively the rest of the way, knowing the stakes.

“We're going to try to get 27 outs however we can to win games,” said Cora. “We're in the middle of the playoff chase or whatever you want to call it. And if I feel like that’s the moment of the game, that’s the moment of the game. Sometimes it's going to work, sometimes it's not gonna work, but it's not gonna be for lack of aggressiveness.”

After Sims completed his solid outing, Bailey Horn got three outs, including a biggie against Corey Seager, one night after the dangerous lefty slugger had taken him deep.

With Cora’s relievers taxed of late, Kenley Jansen entered the picture with two outs in the eighth and helped restore order, earning a four-out save, No. 442 of his career.

“I feel great,” said Jansen. “Whatever we have to do to help our team win ballgames, that's what we’ve got to do. We played hard in this one and the sixth kind of went a little dicey there, but that’s what you have to do, you have to step up and try to hold this game for us to win it.”

The way Crawford was going early on, it didn’t look like the bullpen would be required to do much. In his first four starts coming out of the All-Star break, Crawford was belted around for a 10.61 ERA while giving up 13 homers.

He settled himself nicely on Tuesday.

“I think every time a pitcher takes the mound, they have the mindset of trying to throw a perfect game, right? Obviously, that rarely ever happens,” Crawford said. “But when I take the mound every start, that's kind of what I'm shooting for. Obviously, it's never happened. But getting quick outs like that, and getting ahead in the count and getting those quick outs and competing pitch to pitch, that’s what I try and do.”

In truth, the Red Sox don’t need perfection at this point of the season. They just need every win they can get. Crawford set them up nicely for a big one on Tuesday.