Red Sox Fall to Guardians as Miller's September Woes Deepen
The short version
- Cleveland beat Boston 3-2 at Fenway Park on Tuesday.
- Erik Miller allowed the deciding run in the ninth and has struggled throughout September.
- Rookie Payton Tolle threw 5 2/3 innings, ending the regular season with a 3.03 ERA.
- The Guardians remain one game ahead of the White Sox in the AL Central.
- Wednesday's pitching matchup is Sonny Gray vs. Foster Griffin at 7:10 p.m. on NESN.
Erik Miller gave up the go-ahead run in the ninth inning of Boston's 3-2 loss to Cleveland at Fenway Park.
The Boston Red Sox opened the final week of the regular season with a 3-2 defeat against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday at Fenway Park. Left-handed reliever Erik Miller, acquired from the Giants during the year, took the loss after a rough top of the ninth. He hit Chase DeLauter to open the frame, allowed a single to Jo Adell, and Nathaniel Lowe's sacrifice fly put Cleveland ahead for good.
The ninth-inning collapse continued a troubling month for Miller, who has been charged with six earned runs across 6 1/3 September innings with nine walks and two hit batters. That follows an excellent August in which he posted a 0.79 ERA across 11 appearances with a 20-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Boston rookie starter Payton Tolle worked 5 2/3 innings on 91 pitches, giving up eight hits and two walks while constantly working out of trouble. Cleveland scored both of its runs against him in the second inning. Chad Tracy, named permanent manager earlier in the day, removed Tolle mid-inning so the Fenway crowd could salute a strong first season that includes a 3.03 ERA over 148 2/3 innings.
Mickey Gasper tied the game at 2-2 with a solo home run off Hunter Gaddis to lead off the eighth, his 10th of the year and sixth by a Red Sox hitter this season. Adley Rutschman added three hits, but Boston finished 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine.
The Guardians stayed a game ahead of the White Sox in the AL Central race with the win, while Boston sits at 84-73 with five games remaining. Sonny Gray (17-5, 2.82 ERA) is set to face Cleveland lefty Foster Griffin (15-5, 3.67 ERA) in Wednesday's middle game, a 7:10 p.m. start airing on NESN.