Kimbrel entered Sunday's game to start the ninth inning in a non-save situation, then allowed a walk and a double to take the loss in Sunday's 1-0 loss to the Athletics.
The game's end was aided by left-fielder Brock Holt's inability to cleanly field the ball, but a five-pitch walk (with four missing badly) and a well-struck ball is not what you want from a closer of Kimbrel's ilk. His performance in non-save situations has been a problem all season for Boston -- Kimbrel has allowed 28 baserunners in 17.1 innings in such situations, but just 20 in 26.2 innings during save chances.