BOSTON -- The play made no sense. How could Brock Holt expend legitimate energy chasing down Hunter Pence's slicing drive towards the Pesky Pole, and then just completely give up as the ball rolled around the fence for an inside-the-park home run?
Holt's answer speaks to one of the primary reasons the Red Sox find themselves back at .500 after a listless 9-5 loss to the Rangers -- carelessness.
It turns out Holt thought Pence's shot had cleared the short right field fence as Holt crashed into it. That led to the embarrassing visual of Holt lying atop the fence like a cat lazing in a tree while Pence circled the bases and center fielder Mookie Betts jogged towards the ball in no-man's land.
"I got in the stands a little bit and I thought the ball went over the fence," Holt said. "Just one of those things where I've kind of got to know where the ball is. The ball was slicing away from me, and when I ended up two rows deep in the stands, I assumed it had gone out. I had no idea it was still in play. That's kind of embarrassing on my part. Got to do a better job of paying more attention. That one was on me. I don't know if I would've been able to keep Hunter to a triple there, but I've got to go get that ball and get it in."
Holt believed he had a shot at the ball, but wasn't sure if it hit his glove. He had no idea it was live until it was way too late.
"Not until I turned around and saw Mookie go get it," he said. "I saw the ball out there and I was kind of wondering where it came from. Just went into the stands. Most balls from a righty are going that way, most of them curve around that pole, so when I didn't get it and I was in the stands, I assumed it was three or four rows deep. I had no idea it was still in play. I have to pay better attention."
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The mental error was Holt's second in as many nights. He also ran through a stop sign by third base coach Andy Barkett for the final out of the ninth in a 4-3 extra-innings loss on Monday.
"I think guys are frustrated," Holt said. "We try not to be, but games like tonight, it's embarrassing. We're not playing well. We're not playing up to our capabilities. We know we're good. We haven't clicked. We haven't put it together. That's something we need to get going, because we have talent in this clubhouse and we feel like we're a good team. We just haven't been that good team yet."
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