All Hands on Deck
Not Even Mother Nature Could Save the Red Sox from Another Loss to the Pirates
My mother always said, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
Well, Mom, I’m sorry, but I have an article to write. So I’m going to keep this one short and try to get to the heart of the matter. Boston dropped its third straight series, losing a less-than-inspirational game to the Pirates on Sunday, 8-3.
Patrick Sandoval, who we learned after the game had been dealing with a blister on his foot, didn’t look right from the jump. After recording the first out, he surrendered back-to-back doubles and then an RBI single that put Pittsburgh up 2-0 and basically sealed the deal.
Despite a few opportunities, the Sox were incapable of coming through with a big hit, and in the third inning Sandoval’s struggles continued as he surrendered five more hits and a walk, resulting in a 7-0 Pirates lead.
In the top of the fifth, Connor Wong ran into a fastball to make the score 7-3, and then Mother Nature stepped in. For a brief moment, we all thought she was providing a merciful ending to this disastrous Red Sox road trip.
Not so fast, my friend!
After a nice, relaxing two-and-a-half-hour rain delay, the powers that be decided it was important for the Sox to come back out, embarrass themselves a little more, and, perhaps more importantly, waste even more pitches from their already depleted bullpen.
In short, it looked like the Sox left their bats out in the rain because they couldn’t swing those waterlogged twigs any better than they could when they were dry.
Red Sox lose, 8-3.
It looks like the bilge pumps have stopped working, and it’s time for everyone to start bailing before the ship sinks.
Pick a Lane and Stay in It
The Red Sox are struggling offensively.
When they were rolling, everyone praised their small-ball, team-first approach. It would make sense to continue doing what worked, especially since the big hits and productive at-bats haven’t been there for more than a week. Yet, for some reason, Chad Tracy seems to have gotten away from trying to manufacture runs and putting his struggling hitters in positions where they can succeed.
Let’s go to the second inning. Down 2-0, the first two hitters reach base. Monasterio comes to the plate and, to his credit, attempts to bunt twice but can’t get either one down. He eventually grounds into a double play.
Inning basically over.
Top of the third. Still down only 2-0. Leadoff double. Connor Wong shows no sign of bunting and pops up to first. No movement. No run.
Bottom of the third. Cue the Sandoval implosion, and from that point forward, it almost didn’t matter what happened.
The Red Sox are quickly reverting back to the team that couldn’t overcome even the smallest deficits. And by “small,” I mean two runs.
That makes it imperative to capitalize on every scoring opportunity that presents itself.
I won’t even mention the fact that, the way they’re playing right now, a runner on third with nobody out still feels like only about a 30-70 chance they’ll score. (Sorry, Mom!)
The Walking Wounded
I get the sense that every morning Chad Tracy walks into the clubhouse, takes a deep breath, and wonders who’s missing today and what new bodies Craig Breslow has managed to find overnight.
In the past week alone, Garrett Whitlock, Masataka Yoshida, and Justin Slaten have all landed on the injured list.
In their place have come Raymond Burgos, Alec Gamboa, Seth Martinez, and now Mickey Gasper is back.
We didn’t have that many “pros” on the original roster. Now I’m not even sure what to call this collection of athletes.
Weathering the Storm
The immediate future doesn’t look particularly bright. The Red Sox open another series tonight with a depleted bullpen, and even the healthy arms appear exhausted. The offense is sputtering at best, and the hitters seem to be searching for an approach that works.
Yet, despite losing seven of their last ten games, Boston has surrendered only a half-game in the Wild Card race. I guess I found something nice to say after all. Although, maybe that’s actually saying something not so nice about the rest of the American League.
But hey, this is an article about the Red Sox!
Trevor Story and Roman Anthony are beginning rehab assignments this week. Hopefully Garrett Whitlock’s injury isn’t as serious as initially feared, and a little rest will have him back to normal. No matter how you slice it, the next few weeks are going to require desperate measures just to keep this team afloat.
Let’s hope they figure something out before the end of the season starts looking a lot more like the beginning and wipes away all of the goodwill the Red Sox built during that magical run in July.
Image courtesy of https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/red-sox-lose-series-finale-vs-pirates.html