Red Sox fail to cash in as finale caps losing road trip

CHICAGO -- The Red Sox scored 19 runs across the first two games of this week’s seven-game road trip.

Over the final five, they scored 12 times, capped by a 4-1 loss to the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on Sunday, during which they tallied just five hits and didn’t cash in several key opportunities. Boston will return home having gone 3-4 on the trip, after starting it 2-0.

“Today, we had chances early on,” manager Alex Cora said. “We didn’t put the ball in play.”

Missed opportunities with runners in scoring position was a prevailing theme over the weekend, even in Friday’s 3-1 series-opening win. The tale of the tape:

• Friday: Four hits, 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position, four left on base and 17 strikeouts
• Saturday: Nine hits, 1-for-8 with RISP, 10 left on base and 11 strikeouts
• Sunday: Five hits, 2-for-8 with RISP, eight left on base and 10 strikeouts

Going back to their two losses against the Twins, Boston went 3-for-15 with RISP in Wednesday’s extra-inning loss and did not advance a runner into scoring position Thursday.

“We haven’t hit with men in scoring position the last few days,” Cora said. “Not too many opportunities, either. … We’ve got to do a better job.”

Their best opportunities Sunday came in the second and third innings. In the former, the Red Sox had two on and nobody out, after Adam Duvall led off with a double and Masataka Yoshida was hit by a pitch.

Bobby Dalbec and Christian Arroyo struck out, while Kiké Hernandez reached on an infield single to load the bases. But Caleb Hamilton then struck out looking, ending the threat.

Boston took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when, after consecutive one-out walks, Duvall hit an RBI double. Yoshida then flew out to shallow left field, and the White Sox brought in righty Jesse Scholtens for lefty Tanner Banks, their opener Sunday.

Cora countered with Triston Casas pinch-hitting for Dalbec. Casas flew out to left-center field, just in front of the warning track.

“We pushed the envelope there, the way we set it up with Casas,” Cora said. “We had an idea they were going to a righty going into it. We took our shot there. He had a good at-bat, but it didn’t work out.”

The Red Sox had three baserunners after the third inning, including two hits; they had runners at the corners with two outs in the seventh, with the White Sox leading 4-1. But Rafael Devers flew out to shallow right.

Missed opportunities at the plate leave any team less room for error. In the fifth, Andrew Benintendi doubled into the right-field corner to drive in Gavin Sheets, but the Red Sox appeared to have a play at the plate.

Rob Refsnyder’s throw back in went to Casas at first base. Casas threw to second and Benintendi scampered to third safely. Sheets scored without a throw.

“We’ve got to hit the cutoff man, the first one,” Cora said. “We overthrew that one. That one is a tough situation there. As an infielder, you've got to keep looking back. [Casas] caught it, and then he looked. We can point the finger at him, but if we hit the cutoff man, we get the guy at the plate.”

Said Refsnyder: “I tried to make a strong throw. Obviously got it to Triston. That’s my fault. I take accountability for that, for sure. Just got to hit the first cut and see what’s going on there.”

The road trip started promising, but the Red Sox are returning home one game over .500 at 40-39. Next up is a three-game series against the Marlins, starting Tuesday. Then they’ll hit the road again for three games in Toronto.

“We faced some good pitching,” Cora said of the trip. “The two guys that we faced the first two nights here, the guys in Minnesota. These teams have their records, but they have good pitching. [We’re] disappointed, right? Because we started off well. But now we just got to go home, turn the page and be ready for Tuesday.”

“Unfortunately, we're right around a .500 team,” Refsnyder said. “We’re kind of going back and forth, winning and losing. We’ve got to figure it out.”