Marlins walk off with the win against Koji-less Red Sox. (Photo by Joe Skipper/Getty Images)

Somehow between Friday and yesterday Koji‘s X-Rays went from being negative to positive, and from him joking about missing the rest of the season, to him actually being slated to miss the remainder of 2015. This just about the worst piece of news the Red Sox could have received in regards to winning baseball games this year.

However, the Red Sox must continue to play and flew into Miami for a quick two game set with the Marlins, who are tied with the Phillies for the worst record in baseball. The game went entirely according to plan until a certain point late in the game (can you guess which inning?).

Steven Wright had the hill and was rock solid once again:

He put two runners on to start the 6th and got the hook. Of course, the bullpen allowed both runs to score, but still a solid outing.

The offense did their job in support of him, building a 4-0 lead heading into that disappointing 6th inning.

Mookie Betts made his triumphant return to the Boston lineup and got right back into the swing of things with an RBI single in the 3rd and an RBI double in the 5th. He was 3-5 with two RBIs.

Jackie Bradley Jr. had two more hits, including a triple, and scored two runs. He’s been much more aggressive at the plate which is good to see. The only hypothesis I could come up with as to why he rakes at every single level besides the majors is because of his approach. I think MLB pitchers took advantage of his patience and pumped in strike one and strike two, meaning JBJ was always hitting behind in the count. That means he was seeing a steady diet of major league quality “out pitches”. That’s not a recipe for success no matter who you are. Swinging earlier in the count can help Jackie see better pitches to hit, and will also keep pitchers honest earlier in the count. Once he piles up a bunch of hits early in the count he’ll ideally be able to settle back into his old approach with greater success.

He also did this in the field:

I think what Lefty said the other day is dead accurate: he may be the best outfielder I’ve ever seen in my life. That’s why it’s so hard to give up on this guy. If he can even hit a little bit, he’s incredibly valuable.

Xander scored on a wild pitch and Rusney Castillo had a RBI triple to round out the Sox’ scoring at 4. After the two aforementioned Wright runs and another surrendered by a combination of Layne and Ogando in the 7th, the Red Sox entered the 9th inning with a 4-3 lead.

To be fair, new closer Junichi Tazawa came into the game with the thinnest of margins, but he certainly didn’t excel in his new role. The first batter of the inning hit the first pitch he saw 410 feet to dead center, but the yard held it for out #1. He then surrendered back-to-back singles and uncorked a wild pitch, putting runners on 2nd and 3rd. The next batter, Adeiny Hechavarria, lifted a sac fly and the game was tied. The save was blown. Koji’s absence was already felt.

The Red Sox went in order in their half of the 10th. In the bottom of the frame they brought in Craig Breslow who gave up a leadoff triple to Dee Gordon. Having a runner on 3rd with nobody out means the Marlins had an 84% chance of scoring Gordon and winning the game that inning. Breslow went to Yale and smartly surrendered a walkoff single to Justin Bour two batters later, as to not disturb the statistical norm of the situation that he found himself in. Game, Miami 5-4.

Notes:

–Xander was 2-4 and is still raking.