Panda can’t make a clean transfer. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

In my game recaps I tend to give the final score right off the bat and then give you the full story on how and why the game went the way that it did. In this one I’ll keep the suspense alive and try and craft the game story in chronological order.

The Red Sox jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Mookie singled, went to second on a Papi slow roller, and came home on a sharp single by Hanley. 

Joe Kelly, staked with a lead, promptly walked Delino DeShields on 5 pitches in the bottom half of the frame. DeShields then stole second on the next pitch. A single and a groundout later, the game was tied at one.

The Red Sox would get that run right back in the top of the second on a couple of hits and an Adrian Beltre error.

In bottom of the second, again staked with a one-run lead, Kelly had a much more favorable response. He got the first two batters, surrendered a single to Carlos Corporan on a ball that just was out of the reach of a lunging Bogaerts, then got Hanser Alberto to ground out to second to end the frame.

In the bottom of the third, Pumpsie would be the victim of some shoddy defense. After retiring the first batter of the inning and walking the second, Kelly would get Prince Fielder to ground to short. Xander’s flip to Pedroia was a little high and Pedey tried to barehand it, but it fell to the ground. It looked like he took his eye off the ball while he was looking for the bag. Pedey had 2 errors all of last season but this was already his 5th in 2015. It would’ve been a tough turn for the double play, but they ended up getting no outs and a run would come around to score as a result.

With two outs Elvis Andrus hit a slow chopper that Sandoval charged, but he couldn’t make a clean transfer and dropped the ball – the second error of the inning behind Kelly. Pumpsie was able to bear down and induce a routine grounder to Napoli to end the third.

Kelly was generally effective for the rest of his outing, but was lifted after the fifth due to his high pitch count, which was thanks in part to the errors committed behind him. His line:

Kelly made a conscious effort to mix in his change-up and curveball more often and it seemed like it worked. As Remy pointed out, the Twins were all over his fastball in his last outing. It wasn’t exactly a “statement” game, but it was good to see Joe turn in a solid performance and make management’s decision a little tougher on what to do with the staff.

Back to the game.

At this point in the season I think we’re all aware that Hanley gets confused out there on the diamond sometimes. He looks like he’s not quite sure what he should be doing or even who he is at times. That must be what happened in the top of the 6th when he reached on a blooper to right, had a straight steal of second, and came around to score on a single to right by Xander, giving the Sox a 3-2 lead. Maybe he grabbed Mookie’s helmet and thought “Now I can kill ’em with my speed!” It’s a long shot, but it’s the only reasonable theory I can come up with.

Tommy Layne got the last out of the bottom of the 6th, then came back out for the bottom of the 7th and retired the side in order, putting the Red Sox in great shape, needing only 6 outs from their dominant duo of Taz and Koji. Taz held up this end of the bargain, getting the Rangers to go quietly in the bottom of the 8th.

In the top of the 9th Rusney singled, then stole second with Pedroia up. It looked like he overslid the bag and was tagged out by Andrus, but the 2nd base umpire ruled that Elvis pushed him off the bag so he was safe. Interesting call. The Rangers were out of challenges, but I’m not sure that they could even challenge that play since it’s a judgment call. Anyway, on the next pitch Pedroia grounded out, so Rusney was on 3rd with one out, but the heart of the order wasn’t able to drive him home.

No matter, it was Koji time! He got the first batter of the inning, Alberto, to ground to 3rd … but Sandoval booted it for his second error of the game. After a sacrifice and a groundout, the Sox had two outs with the tying run on 3rd. They elected to walk Fielder in order to pitch to Adam Rosales, who had replaced Beltre in the order after he left the game in the 5th with a thumb injury he suffered running the bases (did you follow that?). Only problem was Josh Hamilton was available to pinch hit, and pinch hit he did.

It was actually a pretty good pitch by Koji, a splitter just off the plate outside, but Hamilton went with it and shot it into the gap, scoring Alberto easily from 3rd, and Fielder came all the way around from first to score the game-winning run.

You know how in my last recap I said it was heartening to have a loss be “normal” and not soul-crushing? This was the opposite of that. More awful defense, and more wasted opportunities, another small army of men left on base, and more poor hitting with runners in scoring position. So many things they could’ve done differently (like play deeper with two outs and a runner on third in the bottom of the 9th so if Hamilton does hit a gapper, the second run doesn’t score, or maybe walk Hamilton as well to get to Moreland who was 0-4). They truly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Notes:

-Xander was 0 for his last 15 coming into the game, but went 3 for 4 with an RBI.

-Pedey looks like he’s using an ax handle bat. I’ve heard a lot of hype about them at the college level, but this is the first time I’ve seen a big leaguer use one.

–Nice play by Rusney in the bottom of the 5th on a jam shot. He’s had an up-and-down year in the outfield so far.

-Layne has stranded 10/11 inherited runners this season, including his last 8 straight.

-The Red Sox collectively could not be happier that the month of May is over.

Farrell has words with the umpire (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

The Red Sox lost 7-4 to the Texas Rangers last night, evening the series at one apiece. As strange as this may sound, it was somewhat comforting to have a “normal loss”. It seems like this season all of the Red Sox losses have been in heartbreaking fashion, or the cause of the loss is part of a bigger persistent problem that seems like it’ll never get better. This loss was neither.

Steven Wright had a “normal” start for a knuckler, giving up 3 earned in 5.2 innings pitched, was victimized by a couple of knucklers that didn’t knuckle sufficiently, and one that knuckled too much. Josh Hamilton went deep twice, and another run scored on a wild pitch.

Swihart‘s bat continues to come along nicely. He had an RBI single to tie the game at 2 in the 4th and is now slashing .375/.444/.375 in his last five games. Gotta get those power numbers up, but it seems like he’s figuring out Major League pitching. I also haven’t heard anything bad about his game calling or handling of the staff, so I take that to be a good sign – he’s doing an adequate job at worst.

The bullpen was shaky in this one, with Alexi Ogando and Craig Breslow both getting tagged for runs in their appearances. Breslow has struggled in May after a strong start to the season.

Speaking of which, Hanley hit a two-run, opposite field job to bring the Red Sox within one in the top of the 8th (5-4). Apparently Pedey helped him with some video work before this series. Let’s hope he can keep fixing our sluggers one by one. Or maybe he should start holding group sessions.

Later in the 8th, Napoli and Farrell would get tossed for arguing balls and strikes during a Brock Holt at-bat. Earlier in the inning Napoli struck out looking on a borderline pitch and had some rude things to say to the man in the mask. He continued to bark from the dugout and got the heave-ho.

Notes:

-In a shocking move, the Red Sox have announced that Eduardo Rodriguez will get another start. I guess that’s what happens when you have the best rookie debut for a lefthander since 1954. It looks like the Sox will go with a 6 man rotation for another turn.

-Brock Holt! made a great sliding catch in his home state, playing in front of friends and family. That had to feel good.