The classic followed-from-work recap after the classic sad-even-for-a-rebuilding-year loss:
*Nate Jones started the eighth inning with a 2-0 lead and recorded the first two outs. A single, a walk, an RBI single and a three-run Eduardo Escobar homer, Jones was out of the game with the Sox trailing 4-2.
*Among the frustrating elements of that inning -- Escobar's first two swings were wild hacks at pitches well out of the zone. The first was a fastball that would've been a run-scoring wild pitch had it not nailed the home plate umpire's foot, and the other was a slider high and away. Then Jones grooved a fastball about as center-cut as center-cut cuts:
*Jones took the loss, but he boosted Reynaldo Lopez's Q rating with another no-decision he didn't deserve. He allowed just one hit over seven scoreless innings. Sure, he also walked four, but that's fine when the other contact isn't sound. He also picked off one of those walks.
*Lopez outpitched Fernando Romero, but Romero kept it close enough. Yoan Moncada got him twice, blasting a solo shot on the game's second pitch, then singling, stealing second and scoring on a Jose Abreu double in the fifth. That was the Sox' lone hit with runners over eight at-bats with runners in scoring position.
*Daniel Palka hit a 118-mph double.
Record: 18-39 | Box score
