Cora rips Red Sox for 'awful' defense after 4-error night

The Boston Red Sox nearly escaped Tuesday's game against the Kansas City Royals with a victory, narrowly losing 7-6 in 13 innings.

Manager Alex Cora was more concerned about the team's defensive lapses, telling reporters they probably didn't even deserve to make it to extra innings after committing four errors in the game, according to NESN's Joshua Schrock.

"Awful, awful," Cora said. "That was an awful game, yeah. Yeah. We were lucky we were playing 13 innings, honestly. That was bad. Mental mistakes, physical mistakes, all kinds of mistakes, that was awful."

It was the team's first four-error game since, coincidentally, May 1, 2017. Third baseman Rafael Devers had trouble with a Salvador Perez ground ball to lead off the fourth and catcher Christian Vazquez committed the first of two errors on the night later that inning as he missed a catch while trying to tag Perez at the plate.

Vazquez's second gaffe came in the 10th on a bizarre play where he touched the ball with his mask. It was initially called a catcher's balk before later being credited with an error by way of catcher's interference.

Shortstop Xander Bogaerts capped it off with a throwing error.

Even though Eduardo Nunez tied the game at four with a massive home run in the 12th, and very nearly helped mount another comeback in the 13th, the sloppy defense wound up the story of the night in Bean Town.