BOSTON — The Red Sox won 10 of their final 13 games heading into the All-Star break. They posted the major league’s best record (31-18) from May 19-July 14.
But manager Alex Cora’s squad has lost three straight series coming out of the break. Boston dropped to 2-7 in the second half with an 8-2 loss to the Yankees here Sunday at Fenway Park.
“We had the ball in the ninth inning a few times and we just didn’t finish games,” Cora said. “Obviously it doesn’t look great but from my end, I think we’re OK. Today we were a little bit sloppy defensively. But overall, the effort is there. We had our chance to win the series yesterday; it didn’t happen. So you’ve just gotta turn the page, be ready for tomorrow.”
Boston has blown eight leads in the seventh inning or later during this 2-7 stretch.
The Red Sox blew a 1-0 lead in the eighth inning last Friday against the Dodgers. They blew both a 4-3 lead in the ninth inning and 6-4 lead in the 10th inning last Saturday at Dodger Stadium. They blew both a 7-5 lead in the 10th inning and 8-7 lead in the 12th inning this past Monday in Colorado. They blew an 4-3 lead in the seventh inning Friday vs. New York. They also blew both a 6-5 lead in the seventh inning and 8-7 lead in the ninth inning Saturday vs. the Yankees.
The bullpen has been dreadful without Justin Slaten and Chris Martin who are on the injured list with elbow inflammation. Red Sox pitchers have posted a 6.72 ERA (83 innings, 62 earned runs) in these nine games. The bullpen has an 8.05 ERA (34 ⅔ innings, 31 earned runs).
“It’s obviously a tough stretch,” said Rob Refsnyder who homered Sunday. “We’ve played some good teams but just haven’t been able to kind of push through and win series as of late.”
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The Red Sox won nine of their first 12 games in July but pitching has been an issue throughout the month. The staff has a 4.96 ERA (194 innings, 107 earned runs) dating back to July 1.
“Teams are going to make adjustments. Guys are going to have bad games,” Cora said. “That’s a part of it. We just have to keep making adjustments. I don’t think a stretch of nine games dictates who we are. I think we’re very consistent overall. We’ve been very consistent overall. So just continue to keep preaching the things that we preach — get ahead and stay ahead. And I think we’ve got the right guy on the mound tomorrow to start getting us going.”
Tanner Houck gave up four runs (three earned) in 6 innings here Sunday. He threw just 52.6% strikes and walked four batters.
“It’s part of it,” Houck said about Boston’s tough stretch. “You’re going to have your highs, your lows. But keep showing up every day and doing the stuff that matters and keep putting in work. Tough start. But that’s OK. We’ve got time to piece it back together.”
As Refsnyder pointed out, the schedule doesn’t get easier. The Mariners — who just acquired Randy Arozarena from the Rays — will visit Fenway Park for a three-game series beginning Monday.
Seattle is a half game behind Boston in the AL Wild Card standings. Boston is one game behind Kansas City for the third and final spot.
The Red Sox’ next 22 games are against the Mariners, Rangers, Royals, AL East-leading Orioles and AL West-leading Astros.
“We’ve got another really, really good team coming in, in Seattle,” Refsnyder said. “They just made some moves, too, with Randy. Randy brings a lot of life to any team. So I’m sure they’re going to be playing even harder than usual. I think they’re right behind us in the Wild Card. So it’s going to be another tough series. But our schedule the last couple of months, it’s nothing easy about it so we’ve gotta figure it out — figure it out fast. I’m confident in the group we have here that we can do that. So just regroup tomorrow and come out swinging.”
