Chad Tracy, Red Sox veteran use same word to describe loss: ‘It started with me,’ Sonny Gray says

MIAMI — The Red Sox rarely lose with starter Sonny Gray on the mound. Boston has a .720 winning percentage in his 25 starts.

But the Sox played one of their flattest games of the second half, making a season-high four errors, recording just four hits and grounding out 18 times.

Gray, meanwhile, fell behind in the count against 12 of the 23 batters he faced.

It all resulted in a 4-0 loss to the Marlins at LoanDepot Park.

“Just not a well played game all around,” Gray said. “It started with me. Started the game 3-0 (a three-ball, no-strike count). Yeah, I mean they just beat us tonight. No other way around that. They just beat us.”

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Both Gray and interim manager Chad Tracy described the loss the same way: sloppy

“It was sloppy,” Gray said. “Very. Yeah, it was just sloppy. It was sloppy. But some games are like that.”

Tracy said, “We had some sloppy play, obviously.”

Defense, for the most part, has been a strength for the Red Sox (73-60). They rank third in the majors in defensive runs saved with 54. In the first two games of the series, the Sox made some tough, alert plays that helped them win both games.

But they made an error in each of the first two innings in the three-game series finale. In the first inning, first baseman Nick Sogard’s throw to second base deflected off base-runner Kyle Stowers and went into left field. Stowers advanced to third base on the error and scored on a single.

In the second inning, catcher Connor Wong’s throw attempting to catch base stealer Otto Lopez hit the runner instead. It deflected into left-center field and Lopez scored on the play.

“When you get them in positions where they can play their game ... they like to start running and things like that,” Tracy said. “Obviously some of those errors were on throws. Made one late, but obviously contributed to a degree to the runs. But at the end of the day we didn’t score either, so that was part of it as well.”

Gray, who has pitched at least six innings in 18 of his starts, was removed after five innings. Both Gray and Tracy pointed to falling behind in counts as his main issue.

“Ball one. Ball two,” Gray said.

Tracy added, “I thought he was OK. He got behind in some counts more than (usual). They dragged some at-bats out.”

Gray looked at the bright side. He was pleased with the way the team won two out of three games on the road against a Marlins team that has a 42-27 home record.

“Miami is a really good team at home,” Gray said. “They are. I think it was a good series for us overall. We found ways to win the first two games, which was great. And then tonight, they just beat us. That’s part of it sometimes.”

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