Red Sox rue two errors that tilt tight contest

BOSTON -- If the Red Sox had held the lead and emerged victorious on Wednesday night, the focal point would have been Tanner Houck grinding without his best stuff and throwing a career-high 112 pitches over 5 2/3 innings and again finding a way to keep the opposition at bay.

Instead, it became about other things in a 4-3 loss to the Rays that left Boston needing a win on Thursday to salvage a split of this four-game series and a winning record on this seven-game homestand.

It was about two errors that led to a pair of unearned runs.

It was about an offense that has struggled to score for most of the last two weeks. In a 4-8 stretch that started on May 2, the Boston bats have scored three runs or less in all eight of the defeats, and two or less in six of those losses.

Here is a closer look at key developments from Wednesday:

E-3
In the top of the fourth, with the Sox holding a 1-0 lead, Richie Palacios hit a grounder to first that Garrett Cooper couldn’t field for an error that allowed the tying run to score.

“I probably should have charged it more,” said Cooper. “It took a late hop and it hit something and it kind of bounced the other way. I have made that play 10 million times at first. I played the hop and it ate me up.”

Errors become magnified when a team isn’t scoring. The Red Sox went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left six on base.

“It’s huge,” said Cooper. “We lost by one, and without that we’re still playing right now. It’s a huge error and I take full accountability for not charging. It’s just a play I would love to have back. It’s part of the game where I take responsibility for that.”

E-5
This game was hardly all on Cooper. The Red Sox took the lead right back in the bottom of the fourth when Wilyer Abreu smoked a solo shot into the visitors’ bullpen.

Houck exited with two on and two outs in the sixth, and Greg Weissert hoped to strand those two inherited runners. Jose Siri greeted him with a game-tying single to right.

It looked like the game would stay tied when José Caballero subsequently tried to steal third. Catcher Connor Wong had the throw lined up that was going to end the frame. But Rafael Devers missed the catch for an error that extended the inning.

“I think we had the shot [for the out] at third but, still, he was right in front of us and you step off, make him stop or do something else,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “If we get him out or slow him down, we’d probably still be playing right now.”

While Cora admittedly hadn’t seen the replay of Devers missing the catch before talking to the media, Weissert took accountability for his part in the advancement.

“These guys are aggressive on the basepaths and it's important to keep them honest,” Weissert said. “I should have maybe done an inside move to check him and keep him from getting that big a jump.”

That missed out became glaring when Yandy Díaz followed with a two-run single to make it 4-2 Rays. A solo shot by Devers in the bottom of the sixth brought the Red Sox within a run, but neither team scored the rest of the night.

Houck growing by the start
Even though he took the loss on a night his record slipped to 3-5, Houck (2.17 ERA) continues to be one of the best stories of the season for the Red Sox.

He clearly was laboring at times in this one, but the righty still held the Rays to five hits, three walks and three runs (one earned) while striking out seven.

Cora didn’t give much thought to pulling Houck after five innings and 95 pitches.

“They earned it now,” Cora said of a starting rotation that leads the Majors in ERA (2.54).

Houck appreciated the vote of confidence and only wished he could have finished the job.

“Too many walks, too many counts I fell behind. That led to a higher pitch count and led to more traffic on the bases between the three walks, and a hit batter,” Houck said. “Too many free passes from my end, but all in all, I just went out there and grinded. Left everything out there I could.”