BOSTON
Lorenzo Cain assumed the running position he made famous last October as he sprinted toward right-center field at Fenway Park. He hunched his shoulders slightly, with his left arm dangling by his side, ready to swoop at the last moment and prevent a sinking line drive from touching the outfield grass. He covers his position in a fashion that makes the difficult look simple and the improbable look likely.
Except this was the sort of night Cain suffered through in Friday’s Royals 7-2 loss to the Red Sox: He did not dive. The baseball bounced off the grass a second ahead of his arrival.