HOUSTON — Houston, the Red Sox have a bullpen problem.
What could have been considered a momentary blip on the radar in the days after the All-Star break has turned into a full-fledged five-alarm fire for the Red Sox, who are seeing a concerning late-game script play out over and over again in recent weeks. The latest instance came Monday night at Minute Maid Park in a crushing 5-4 loss.
Leading 4-2 after a clutch, two-run, pinch-hit homer by Masataka Yoshida, the Red Sox surrendered a run behind Tanner Houck in the sixth and then tried something a bit different with their late-game mix. Alex Cora went to eighth-inning man Chris Martin in the seventh with boppers Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez due up for Houston. The ploy worked, as Martin escaped traffic with three strikeouts, but it also left the eighth inning wide open. With Justin Slaten injured and others like Luis García, Zack Kelly and Josh Winckowski struggling of late, Cora has been searching for the third member of his late-game trio to complement Martin and Kenley Jansen. On this night, the nod went to Lucas Sims.
Sims looked off from the jump — he threw six of his first seven pitches outside the zone and issued a leadoff walk — but battled back to get the first two outs on a double play that saved him, at least momentarily. Then came a small-ball avalanche as Chas McCormick blooped a single, stole second and raced home on an RBI knock by ex-Sox farmhand Mauricio Dubón. The game was tied again, another save blown.
“We had the big boys in the seventh and that’s Marty,” said Cora. “Obviously, in the eighth, Sims has done a good job and he had a good lane there. It just didn’t work out.
“A bloop single, a stolen base and a single to left and they tie the game.”
After Josh Hader shut down the Red Sox in the ninth, Boston again felt like it was in a good spot with Kenley Jansen on for the ninth. That feeling intensified when Jansen reached back and got Alvarez — who had already reached base four times on the night — to strike out on three pitches. The satisfaction of winning that battle lasted seconds as Yainer Diaz took launch on a Jansen first-pitch cutter and sent it 406 feet into the Houston night to hand the Astros a walk-off win.
“I made three really good pitches on Alvarez and unfortunately, that one wasn’t well-executed,” Jansen said. “Give credit to the hitter. He ambushed me and won that game. It’s tough. You’ve got to tip your cap.”
Lately, it doesn’t seem to matter who the Red Sox have on the mound late in games. It doesn’t seem to be a matter of if the bullpen will concede a lead, but rather a matter of when. Even against a top-heavy Astros lineup that didn’t feature Kyle Tucker or Alex Bregman on Monday, the 4-2 lead never felt safe. Not with the way it has been going for the bullpen for a full month at this point.
It’s hard to look at the Red Sox’ relief group and feel good about the second-half performance of just about anyone outside Martin. Kelly (6.17 ERA), Winckowski (5.40) and a rotating cast of lefties like Brennan Bernardino (9.58) and Bailey Horn (9.64) have fallen down the branches of Cora’s trust tree. Sims (6.23 ERA in 9 games) and García (14.09 ERA in 7 games) have done more to hurt the Red Sox than help them since being acquired as Craig Breslow’s deadline reinforcements. It’s clear Cora is in shuffle mode.
Help is on the way, with Slaten beginning a rehab assignment soon and Hendriks getting into game action in the minors as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery. But for now, the group is one on fumes. Maybe Greg Weissert, after three weeks in Triple-A and some good results, can provide a spark. Until then, the Red Sox will be in scramble mode, thinking back on a bunch of winnable games that got away.
“It motivates you,” said Jansen. “That’s how you get better. With us, I don’t need anybody to feel sorry about me. I don’t need anybody to feel sorry about us. It’s just let that be a motivation for us. If you want to be in the playoffs and try to win a championship, there’s no way to feel sorry for us. We’ve just got to fight.”
Monday’s loss was not a timely one as the Royals beat the Angels and extended their lead for the third and final American League wild card spot to 4 ½ games. Considering the Red Sox have 38 more games to play, that’s not insignificant. Cora wasn’t apoplectic after the game because he was happy that Houck, who had been uneven in recent weeks, turned up the dial and threw six solid innings, keeping in line with a rotation that has put together a very good week. But even the optimistic manager acknowledged the reality of the ticking clock his team faces.
“I look at the standings all the time,” Cora said. “I look at the scoreboard all the time. I know Kansas City won. I watch.”
Jansen, after taking just his second loss of the season, went philosophical.
“The past makes you miserable and the future gives you anxiety,” the closer said. “You’ve got to stay in the moment. I can’t look in the past. Even that homer I gave up today is the past.”
Sims was more realistic as Boston’s playoff odds fell to 28.6%. That number was 52.4% at the All-Star break.
“Every one’s important. It’s definitely not going to be easy,” he said. “Nobody’s going to go out there and roll over for you. But we’ve got a resilient group. We’ve got to keep our heads down and keep plugging along.”
