KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Remember when Red Sox Nation was ready to panic in the streets? It was premature. But maybe now . . .
When you can no longer rely on Jonathan Papelbon to close out a one-run game; when you can no longer depend on Manny Ramírez to get the ball out of his glove to make an attempt at gunning down the winning run; and when you've lost for a second straight time to the lowly Royals, then if not panic, there has to be major concern as to where the 2006 Red Sox are heading.
Where they are now after their fourth straight loss last night: three games behind the Yankees in the American League East (four in the loss column), and 1 1/2 games behind Minnesota and a half-game behind the White Sox in the wild-card race.
``They're all hard when it happens late," said Sox manager Terry Francona. ``When you get to Pap, you're feeling good about it. It's just one of those things that happens."
Mike Sweeney's single knocked in Mike Grudzielanek with the winning run in a stunning 5-4 loss. But that was after Papelbon surrendered a leadoff triple to pinch hitter Esteban German in the ninth with a 4-3 lead. After striking out Joey Gathright, David DeJesus hit a sacrifice fly to left, beating Ramírez's throw to the plate. But Grudzielanek doubled to left and Sweeney stroked his single to left. Ramírez charged the ball, but couldn't get it out of his glove.
``It was a do-or-die kind of play," said Francona. ``He knew that when he was coming in. You either make it or you don't."
``In my opinion, [Grudzielanek] would have been out," said catcher Javy Lopez, asked what would have happened if Ramírez had been able to make the throw.
Opined Mike Lowell, ``It would have taken a great throw to throw him out. That's just the way I saw it.
``This was a very tough loss to swallow. We had a chance to break it open with one big hit and I couldn't get it done. But you come into the ninth with Pap, you're feeling pretty good about it."
Papelbon, who blew his second straight save and fifth this season, said, ``I just wasn't throwing through Javy's mitt. A lot of times I was just getting ahead of myself. I have to learn to trust my stuff."
Sweeney said the Royals have had good scouting reports on Papelbon, and know his tendencies a little bit better.
``Those guys are going to make adjustments and I need to make some on them," Papelbon said.
On a 102-degree night, Josh Beckett managed to stay cool even with the uneasiness of Lopez's adventurous catching looming over his six-inning outing and an offense that stopped producing after the fourth inning.
Manny Delcarmen and Mike Timlin kept a one-run lead intact through eight innings and it appeared Beckett was heading toward his 14th win.
