Boston Red Sox
Boston fell to 18-26 on the season.
Carl Yastrzemski’s grandson handed the Red Sox another brutal loss Friday night. AP Photo/Brynn Anderson
Another day, another close-but-no-cigar loss for the Boston Red Sox.
The Red Sox’ pitching staff gave the lineup chance after chance to make something happen, as has been the case all season long, but to no avail.
Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski’s grandson, Atlanta Braves right fielder Mike Yastrzemski, walked off Boston with a base hit in the 10th inning to win 3-2 Friday.
Yastrzemski’s game-winning knock marked his seventh career walk-off hit.
The Andover-born Yastrzemski had gotten off to a sluggish start to the season, so securing the victory in extra innings was huge for him.
“It’s just gratifying,” Yastrzemski told Braves sideline reporter Paul Byrd on the field postgame. “The hard work will eventually pay off. You just gotta keep fighting through it, trust the process, trust the hitting coaches, trust yourself most importantly. And eventually it’ll come through.”
Yastrzemski landed with Atlanta on a two-year, $23 million deal over the winter after spending nearly seven seasons with the San Francisco Giants.
Starting pitcher Connelly Early allowed two solo home runs, one in the first inning to catcher Drake Baldwin and another to center fielder Michael Harris in the fourth, which gave Atlanta an early 2-0 lead.
Early offered yet another solid outing, tossing five innings with five hits allowed on 86 pitches (61 strikes). He struck out six batters and didn’t give up a walk.
After walking off the mound and into the dugout after the fifth inning, Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy appeared to tell Early that his day was done. Early shook his head repeatedly as Tracy seemed to tell him that he wasn’t going back out for the sixth.
Early said he simply wanted to continue pitching and help the team win as he had settled into the game by that point, but understood why Tracy made the decision.
“Just wanna be able to go six, as deep as I can into the game, help the bullpen,” Early said. “Trying to stay in there. He had his reasons and I completely understand those. … Just trying to keep me as fresh as possible for the next start.”
The Braves held their advantage until the sixth when designated hitter Mickey Gasper collected an RBI single to put the Red Sox on the board.
Shortstop Marcelo Mayer made things interesting with a solo homer of his own to tie the contest at two in the seventh frame. The clutch long ball was his second of the year.
Unfortunately, Boston’s offensive luck stopped there. It failed to score the rest of the way, coming up short time and time again until Yastrzemski did his thing in extra innings.
The Red Sox left seven men on base and batted 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position on seven hits to continue a disturbing trend featuring an inability to plate runs this season.
Boston will look to even the weekend series Saturday at 7:15 p.m. Eastern Time with Payton Tolle on the bump.
Kaley Brown
Kaley Brown is a sports producer for Boston.com, where she covers the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox.
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