Nobody on the Boston Red Sox had fun on Wednesday afternoon at Fenway Park. With temperatures for a day game in the mid-90s, they would go on to lose to the Washington Nationals 10-2.
It was worse for catcher Connor Wong. Starting behind the dish, it was so hot in his gear that he claimed after the game to have lost 6lbs over the course of the afternoon. He’ll begin recovering from the heat immediately.
“Two jerseys, countless waters, some Pedialyte,” Wong said. “Yeah, it was a hot one.”
Wong finished the day 2 for 4 at-bat. That was without an RBI or an extra-base hit. Still, the effort wasn’t enough for the Red Sox, who have now lost two games in a row.
“It’s hot but they’re playing in it, too,” Wong said. “We’ve just gotta try to find ways to cool down a little bit when you have the chance in between innings. Both teams are playing in it. So I don’t think we’re going to use that as an excuse.”
Boston Red Sox SP Payton Tolle Struggled in the Heat
GettyBoston Red Sox SP Payton Tolle
On the mound for the Boston Red Sox was Payton Tolle. Coming off a near-heroic effort against the New York Yankees, where he pitched 7.0 scoreless innings with the flu, hopes were high that he could get the Red Sox back on track. Instead, he had his worst outing of the season.
Tolle did not record an out in the fourth inning before getting pulled with the bases loaded. Everyone would come home to score, and his final line saw him give up 6 earned runs and 3 walks to 5 strikeouts. Mixed in was a lot of hard contact, including two home runs. On top of that, before being pulled, Tolle saw his fastball velocity drop.
Red Sox manager Chad Tracy certainly thought that the heat played its role in the game. In particular, as the Nationals forced Tolle into long at-bats, he labored and lost his velocity.
“It was hot. Very hot and very humid,” Tracy said. “They pushed him to 40-plus (pitches) in the first two innings. In that heat, I think just the quality of at-bats, the long at-bats, it wore down a little bit. And then it showed up again there in the fourth where you see him kind of start to fatigue… You saw the velo drop and you just felt like as you’re watching like he’s fatigued.”
Tolle had a different tune after the game. For his part, he had no interest in blaming the heat for his bad day.
“I’ve pitched in hot days a thousand times before, so I don’t really see that as an excuse,” Tolle said. “I think I just made too many pitches and made innings longer than they needed to be.”
What’s Now for the Red Sox?
GettyThe Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park
For a moment, Red Sox fans could be excused for believing this team could go on a run. Having swept the Yankees and playing the best baseball they had all season, on the back of elite starting pitching, things looked good. In particular, with the AL Wild Card being such a tight race.
Then, the Red Sox dropped two of three to the Nationals. A probable suspension for Willson Contreras for fighting is looming and starting pitcher Connelly Early just hit the IL with an elbow issue. Just like that, the Red Sox look like obvious sellers at the Trade Deadline once again.
Selling is not something Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow wants to do. After firing manager Alex Cora, he’s on the hot seat, and selling is effectively signaling a failed season. So, he’s going to give the team time to try and go on a run to justify buying at the Trade Deadline.
The Red Sox will have Thursday off to fly cross-country. After that, they begin a weekend series against the Los Angeles Angels, who have one of the worst records in baseball. Before the All-Star break, Boston will also see the Chicago White Sox and the New York Mets.
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