Rally falls short, Red Sox stay put in WC race - MLB.com

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CHICAGO -- As a booming fireworks display lit up the sky at Guaranteed Rate Field late Friday night, it was a reminder of sorts that the Red Sox never could come up with that grand finale they seemed to be on the verge of throughout the late innings of an eventual 4-3 loss to the soon-to-be American League Central champion White Sox.

Down 4-0 early, the Red Sox kept chipping away and got to the point they just needed a bloop or a blast -- or, preferably, one of each.

But they couldn’t find that one game-turning hit to tie or take the lead.

“I feel like anybody at any given time on this team can get the big hit,” said Bobby Dalbec, who homered and tripled to lead the comeback that fell just short. “Just keep that next-guy-up mentality. They have a great pitching staff.”

The Red Sox were fortunate in one respect: The two teams below them in the AL Wild Card race, the Yankees and Blue Jays, both lost. Boston (80-63) remains a game ahead of the Yankees (78-63) and 1 1/2 over the Blue Jays (77-63) even as all three AL East squads are tied in the loss column.

As for the proceedings in Chicago, it started as an uphill battle for the Red Sox.

Stifled by old friend Craig Kimbrel in the eighth and closer Liam Hendriks in the ninth, the Sox suffered a hard-fought defeat on a day that started with the unwelcome news that ace Chris Sale tested positive for COVID-19, continuing a team-wide outbreak that started two weeks ago.

And on a night the Red Sox got their de facto captain Xander Bogaerts back from the COVID-19 injured list, they scratched J.D. Martinez shortly before the start of the game due to back spasms.

Still, the Red Sox were right there in the late innings after Alex Verdugo’s pinch-hit RBI single with one out in the seventh made it a one-run game.

Considering how well Dalbec has been hitting for the last six weeks, there’s nobody else the Sox would have wanted at the plate than when their power-hitting rookie stepped in against Kimbrel with Bogaerts on first and two outs in the eighth.

On a 2-2 pitch, Kimbrel threw his signature knuckle-curve, and Dalbec swung through it. It was the first time Dalbec had ever faced Kimbrel, who won a World Series with the Red Sox in 2018.

“I was just looking for something out, over [the plate],” Dalbec said. “I was just kind of anticipating that curveball a little bit after three heaters in a row. It just kind of backed up a little bit and stayed up and in. Nasty. Nasty, obviously.”

Then in the ninth, Christian Vázquez legged out an infield hit to open the inning and Danny Santana pushed him into scoring position on a fielder’s choice grounder that second baseman César Hernández made a standout play on.

With two outs, manager Alex Cora did something he seldom does and lifted leadoff man Kiké Hernández for pinch-hitter Travis Shaw, who flied out to end it.

Houck: ‘Not my best’
If rookie righty Tanner Houck could have put together a better night, the Red Sox might have been able to win despite their lack of a breakthrough hit at the plate.

But Houck pinned his team in an early hole when he got beat for a three-run homer by José Abreu on an 0-2 pitch that caught too much plate.

What was Houck trying to do on that offering?

“Bury it,” said Houck. “It was a slider down and away. I haven’t seen exactly where it was but he just put good wood on it after two pitches. Hindsight is 20-20, but if I go back and throw another four-seam fastball at the top of the zone there …”

Houck didn’t finish his thought, but he didn’t need to.

“Not my best,” Houck said of his start. “But the world is still revolving. Come back tomorrow and get back to work. Home runs are going to happen, 0-2 mistakes are going to happen, but I’m more upset with myself that I didn’t pitch to what I see as my strengths. If I pitch to my strengths and lose that way, I know I can look at myself in the mirror and say I did everything that I could.”

In 11 starts this season, Houck is 0-4 with a 3.83 ERA.

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Rally falls short, Red Sox stay put in WC race - MLB.com
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