The Red Sox took a 4-1 loss to the Rangers Thursday night, which did not get much attention due to the NFL Draft.
Martin Perez went 5.2 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) off five hits, striking out seven while walking none.
Sawamura would replace Perez in the sixth inning with two outs, after a Xander Bogaerts error put a runner on. But Sawamura surrendered a two run blast from Jose Trevino.
“Like I said to you guys before, I respect Alex’s decision,” Perez said. “He’s the manager. He can do whatever he wants. If he say that’s enough for me, I’m just going to give you the ball. I’m going to respect him. He’s my friend.”
Cora said he took Perez out of the ball game because of the matchup.
“We had a righty (right-handed hitter) in that situation,” Cora said. “We pushed Martín to get out there. We don’t make a play. And we felt that was a good matchup for us and we got burned.”
The Red Sox one run came from the bat of Rafael Devers, as an RBI double in the sixth tied the game at 1-1.
The Red Sox look to bounce back Friday night against the Rangers.
Photo Credit: MassLive