BOSTON — Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran lost sight of George Springer’s 369-foot fly ball into right-center field with two outs in the third inning. It should have been the final out and kept the game scoreless. Instead, Springer reached on a ground-rule double and the Blue Jays went on to score four runs.
“That’s on me,” Red Sox pitcher Chris Murphy said. “I gave up three doubles following it. I also threw a slider right down the middle on a two-strike count. So not a ball that should have even been hit over there.”
Murphy received the loss. The Red Sox fell 13-1 to the Blue Jays and suffered a three-game series sweep.
Springer connected for his double on a 91.2 mph slider that Murphy threw right down the middle of the plate. It left Springer’s bat at 100.1 mph.
“That’s my guy,” Murphy said, continuing to back Duran. “Everybody on defense, that’s my team. So I ride with these guys every single day no matter if I’m here or not. That’s baseball.”
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Duran called it “an all-around terrible play on my part.”
“That was terrible leadership … on my part. I didn’t talk to Dugie before the play,” Duran said. “Because the ball was going to cross over the sun, which would have been easy for him to make the play. But I didn’t take charge. I didn’t talk to him before the play even happened to let him know, hey, if the ball hits here, it probably will be easier for him. But it was just an all-around terrible play on my part. Totally on me. I should have made the play. I didn’t communicate. Just a terrible play on my part.”
Matt Chapman followed Springer’s ground-rule double with a two-run double. Cavan Biggio followed with an RBI double. Kevin Kiermaier then delivered an RBI single.
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Murphy, who served as the bulk reliever following opener Brennan Bernardino, entered with a 1.59 ERA in nine outings (28 ⅓ innings). But he gave up six earned runs, seven hits (one homer) and two walks while striking out three in 2 ⅓ innings.
“I didn’t execute pitches with two strikes,” Murphy said. “Also didn’t get to two strikes a lot. Gotta get ahead to all those guys because they will do damage. So that Springer at-bat and then I gave up a couple doubles after that. So that’s what I have to do: strike one, strike two.”
