Why Alex Cora Pulled Cooper Criswell In Perfect Red Sox Start

Cooper Criswell took the ball for the Boston Red Sox on Sunday afternoon looking to give his team a chance to win the series.

He did just that, but his team could not reward him.

Criswell mixed his pitches well and attacked opposing hitters as the Red Sox starter retired all 12 batters he faced against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. Sitting as just 52 pitches, Criswell did not return for the fifth inning as Alex Cora turned to veteran left-hander Rich Hill.

The move did not pay off when Detroit's Spencer Torkelson blasted a two-run home run to give the Tigers the lead, who eventually added on an in 4-1 victory to down the Red Sox and take the series.

Alex Cora noted that for as well as Criswell threw the ball, a predetermined plan to attack specific areas of the Detroit lineup took over in their decision-making process on the mound.

"We drew it up, they had a bunch of lefties," Cora told reporters, per NESN's postgame coverage. "He gave us enough. We went to Rich in that situation. We had a big pocket of lefties. Just the righty burned us."

Criswell certainly had plenty left in the tank. Cora still felt confident in the decision to pitch Hill and accepted that some decisions don't always work out.

"The hope was to give us as many outs as possible and then we'd take advantage of the matchups" Cora said. "It just didn't work out. ... Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Today, we got burned.

The Red Sox look to bounce back with an uphill climb in the playoff race as they start a three-game series at Citi Field on Monday against the New York Mets.