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Chris Archer's toughest opponent Tuesday was his hoodie

Over his career, Tampa Bay Rays ace Chris Archer hasn’t been effective against the Boston Red Sox. Through 14 starts, Archer carries a 1-9 record and a 5.82 ERA against Boston. No team has hit Archer harder.

So, when Archer took the mound against Boston on Tuesday, it was fair to assume he was going to be in for a tough battle. Archer did find himself in some trouble Tuesday, but it wasn’t due to his on-field performance.

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Archer turned in a solid start against the Red Sox. Over five innings, the right-hander gave up two runs, one earned, on five hits. He struck out six and walked two during the outing. It wasn’t an exceptional start, but it was good enough to keep his team in the game. With a little run support, he could have even picked up the win. Instead, the Rays scored just one run during the 2-1 loss.

After surviving the rough Red Sox lineup, you would think things would have gotten easier for Archer. That wasn’t the case. As Archer was being told he was being taken out of the game, he experienced his biggest fail of the night.

Yeah. Archer lost a battle to his own hoodie. It’s clear he was distracted by Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey, but that doesn’t fully excuse what happened here.

The best part, of course, is that Archer doesn’t realize he’s put the hoodie on backward until the hood flies up in front of his face. At that moment, there’s a slight pause where you know Archer is thinking, “I’ve made a huge mistake.”

Chris Archer had some trouble with his hoodie Tuesday. (Getty Images/Brian Blanco)
Chris Archer had some trouble with his hoodie Tuesday. (Getty Images/Brian Blanco)

Hey, you can’t win them all. Given Archer’s previous struggles against Boston, he’s probably fairly happy with his performance. Sure, getting obliterated by your own hoodie probably lessens that enthusiasm, but at least it’s a “loss” that won’t appear on his stat sheet.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik