It began as a clean game with Ceddanne Rafaela starting at shortstop for the first time this season.
It ended in another mess, with a collision between two key players and some defensive reshuffling that led to more costly miscues.
The Red Sox’s defense — or lack thereof — wasted a strong effort from starter Kutter Crawford in a 6-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Marathon Monday.
The Red Sox have now allowed 19 unearned runs and committed 17 errors. They led the majors in both categories as of the end of their game on Monday.
The teams battled through a scoreless tie for six innings before the Guardians took a 2-0 lead in the seventh on a two-out, two-run homer from pinch-hitter Will Brennan.
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Following that home run, Cleveland’s Estevan Florial hit a pop fly to shallow left field and the game took an even worse turn for Boston.
Rafael Devers, back in the lineup after sitting out the previous four games with shoulder soreness, backpedaled for the ball.
Tyler O’Neill charged in from left field and the two collided, head-to-head, going down hard for several minutes.
Eventually both players got up under the supervision of several team trainers and manager Alex Cora and walked off under their own power.
