The Red Sox’s roller coaster is, for the time being, climbing back uphill.
In a tumultuous season defined by chaos, inconsistency and awkward roster fits, Boston’s 11-7 win over the Yankees on Sunday secured the club’s most encouraging series win of the year so far. The Sox pitched poorly against their rivals, surrendering 23 runs over three games, but a locked-in lineup managed to overcome the team’s poor defense and pitching woes.
Advertisement
The galvanizing victory was a prime reminder that this Red Sox club, while immensely flawed, is still incredibly talented. And despite all the drama, the hand-wringing, the underwhelming record, the bad defense, the injured superstar and the underperforming rotation, Boston’s season is far, far from over.
Because this team can rake.
Even with perennial All-Star Alex Bregman on the injured list and top prospect Roman Anthony wallowing in Triple-A (until his call-up on Monday, that is), the Red Sox are finding ways to put runs on the board. They clocked five home runs Sunday in the Bronx, continuing a torrid June that has Boston’s lineup atop most leaderboards this month.
Advertisement
But besides full-time DH Rafael Devers, who’s enjoying the best statistical season of his career, much of Boston’s production has come from unlikely sources.
Rookie catcher Carlos Narvaez, acquired from the Yankees in December, has been a revelation. Since the start of May, the 26-year-old has been baseball’s best hitting catcher besides MVP candidate Cal Raleigh. Unheralded utility man Romy Gonzalez, who was 3-for-4 with a homer on Saturday, has an adjusted OPS 28% better than league average. Lefty-killer Rob Refsnyder has a .947 OPS against southpaws. And journeyman Abraham Toro, who spent the first month of the season in Triple-A, is slashing .341/.353/.573 since his call-up on May 4.
That quartet, alongside the ever-mashing Devers, has kept the Red Sox from imploding over the past five weeks.
Since the beginning of May, Boston’s 5.19 rotation ERA is the third-worst mark in MLB, better than only those of the lowly Athletics and the historically awful Rockies. To be clear, the starting pitching wasn’t much better over the weekend against the Yankees. On Friday, Walker Buehler allowed seven runs while recording just six outs. In Saturday’s victory, ace Garrett Crochet had one of his worst outings of the year. On Sunday, rookie Hunter Dobbins was sufficient in a three-earned-run start.
Advertisement
Buehler’s Game 1 meltdown — two homers and five runs in the first inning — was emblematic of Boston’s most persistent pitching issue: catastrophic first innings. The team’s 7.12 first-inning ERA would be the worst full-season mark by any club (Coors Field Rockies excluded) since 2006. It probably goes without saying that that kind of start puts an offense in an immediate hole and makes winning, well, difficult.
Buehler, whose most recent Yankee Stadium appearance came during Los Angeles’ Game 5 clincher last October, looked out of sorts on the mound Friday and out of answers in the clubhouse afterward. The typically confident right-hander admitted that he’s searching to regain his trademark on-mound conviction. Boston gave Buehler $21 million to help solidify its rotation, but since returning a few weeks ago from an IL stint, he has delivered a pair of volcanic, destabilizing starts.
But while the rotation has struggled, much of those issues are intertwined with the team’s bizarrely assembled position-player group.
Advertisement
All year, this roster has been an incoherent hodgepodge of puzzle pieces. Signing Bregman to play third base, promoting top prospect Kristian Campbell to play second and keeping Tristan Casas at first all compounded to cement Devers as the every-day DH. But Bregman and Casas are now both on the IL, leaving the corners to be occupied by some combination of Gonzalez, Toro and recent rookie call-up Marcelo Meyer.
To their credit, that group on the corners has held its own. But up the middle, things are falling apart. The Story/Campbell tandem has been worth minus-11 outs above average, one of the most reliable public defensive metrics, which is easily the worst mark in the American League. The AL “runners up” for worst middle infield OAA, Baltimore and Seattle, are tied with a distant minus-6. Only the Nationals, at minus-13, have been worse than the Red Sox.
Considering how important middle-infield defense is, Boston’s situation isn’t just ugly. It’s unsustainable.
As a team, Boston is converting only 68% of batted balls into outs, the fourth-worst rate in MLB. The Red Sox also lead baseball in errors, a flawed but still somewhat representative defensive stat. So while the rotation besides Crochet has generally underwhelmed, that group isn’t getting much help from a defense that has a number of pieces playing out of position. Rushed throws and sluggish turns have exacerbated the situation for Boston’s already thin pitching depth.
Advertisement
And here’s the truth: This team will go only as far as its run prevention allows. Which, so far, has been nowhere near good enough. How everything fits together with the addition of Anthony and once Bregman gets back later in the summer remains to be seen, but finding a way to improve the defense and the pitching will be absolutely vital if Boston is going to leap back into contention.
The bones of this team are too good and the Red Sox have too much potential to let this highly anticipated season go to waste. But this team can’t outslug its problems forever.
This news was originally published on this post .
About the author
Michigan State HC Tom Izzo: Jeremy Fears Jr. ‘As Good As Any Guard I’ve Had’
Jeremy Fears Jr. is off to a spectacular start for the Michigan State Spartans on both ends of the floor, and it shows in the box score.Over Michigan State's last two games, Fears has totaled 26 points, 24 assists and five steals, and the redshirt sophomore guard has caught head coach Tom Izzo's attention."I'm never satisfied. I think his defense can be a little better because I think he's an absolute dog defensively, meaning he'll dog you. Not a dog in a bad way. He can get after you. He's a pitbull in that when he wants to be," Izzo said about Fears after Michigan State's win over Detroit Mercy on Friday night. "Now we're getting him a little rest, 28-29 minutes [per game] is probably perfect if we can do that because he's got to push the ball, he's […]
Sparta zdržovala, mínila Boleslav. Vítej v mém světě, řekl Priske kolegovi
Boleslavský trenér Aleš Majer, který byl v hodně chladném odpoledni do utkání tak ponořen, že koučoval jen ve svetru, se u postranní čáry několikrát chytal za hlavu. Sparťanský kouč Brian Priske se pak dostal do výměny názorů s domácí lavičkou a po utkání si vše vyříkával s vedoucím domácího mužstva Markem Matějovským.Reakce aktérů? „Bylo to úplně v pohodě. Nešlo o nic zásadního. Říkali jsme si (s trenérem Priskem - pozn. aut.) něco k tomu, že Sparta hrála v závěru pomalu. On mi to totiž vytýkal po zápase na Spartě, že po 80. minutě za stavu 2:2 jsme pomalu rozehrávali. Říkal jsem mu, že tady je to to samé,“ vylíčil Majer.Zmínka o tom, že zdržovali, hosty nenechala v klidu. „Nepřijeli jsme sem zdržovat utkání. To nikdy není náš záměr, naopak my jsme ten tým, který chce držet tempo utkání. Ale když máte pět minut do konce, vedete o gól, hráči jsou pod tlakem a mají zodpovědnost […]
Vini Jr e Real Madrid voltam a avançar sobre renovação e tomam decisão
Vini Jr. tem contrato com o Real Madrid até o meio de 2027 (Foto: Magara Press SL/Alamy Live News)Vini Jr e Real Madrid voltaram a tratar da renovação de contrato nas últimas semanas, com mais clareza e menos ruído nos bastidores. A expectativa é de que um novo contrato seja firmado em breve, ampliando o vínculo que hoje termina em junho de 2027. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADEApós uma série de polêmicas que aumentaram a especulação sobre uma possível saída, a direção merengue e o atacante brasileiro alinharam o desejo mútuo de seguir juntos. Segundo o jornal espanhol ‘AS’, ambas as partes enxergam o acordo encaminhado, após um período desgastante de nove meses de negociações.“Eles conversaram recentemente e uma solução está a caminho para que se chegue a um acordo final”, diz o jornal. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADELeia também: Lewandowski pode sair do Barcelona e […]
Slalomář Krejčí je Králem divoké vody za letošní rok, uspěl na MS i ME
Krejčí potvrdil postavení z celosvazové ankety o Kanoistu roku, kde skončil druhý hned za mistrem světa v rychlostní kanoistice Martinem Fuksou. Mezi závodníky na divoké vodě dostal v celkovém pořadí 153 bodů a vyhrál s výrazným náskokem 55 bodů před kanoistou Matějem Vaňkem. „Já jsem celkově vděčný za celou sezonu a tohle už je jenom takový bonus. Je to fajn, je to hezké dojet se podívat do Olomouce a vyzvednout si cenu. Jsem za to rád,“ řekl Krejčí v nahrávce pro média.Druhý Vaněk díky světovému titulu ve sjezdu nechal o sedm bodů za sebou slalomáře Jiřího Prskavce. Ten získal na kajaku evropské zlato a světový bronz.Krejčí vyhrál i hodnocení seniorské kategorie ve vodním slalomu, kde za ním skončil druhý Prskavec. Třetí příčku obsadila kanoistka a kajakářka Gabriela Satková, která loni ovládla celkové pořadí této ankety. Mezi slalomovými nadějemi byli nejlepší juniorský mistr světa na kajaku Michal Kopeček a světový šampion mezi kanoisty do 23 let Lukáš Kratochvíl.Pořadí […]
What now for England after Ashes implosion in Perth?
You head into an intimidating environment with hopes of success and then it goes so epically, spectacularly badly.No, we are not referring to Monty Panesar's appearance on Celebrity Mastermind back in 2019, which made a surprise entry into an eventful Ashes build-up as the former England spinner became embroiled in a spat with current Australia batter Steve Smith Instead, we are talking about England's fortunes in the first Test. As you surely know by now, that match didn't end well for them. It didn't start well for them either (172 all out inside 33 overs on day one) but at lunch on day two they had wrestled control: leading Australia by 99 runs with nine second-innings wickets in hand. Two and half hours later, they had somehow lost, through their own errors and the unbridled brilliance of makeshift opener Travis […]
Lane Kiffin’s Decision Looms as LSU Reportedly Prepares Massive $90M Offer
Lane Kiffin’s decision on his coaching future feels like it's holding college football hostage.Ole Miss confirmed Friday that Kiffin will announce his future on Nov. 29 — one day after the Rebels meet Mississippi State — leaving Florida, LSU, and even his own program stuck in an uncomfortable position.The uncertainty intensified late Friday night, when reports surfaced that LSU officials are preparing to make an aggressive push to pry Kiffin from Oxford, Mississippi. According to a report from Yahoo Sports, key decision-makers are preparing a formal offer that could reach seven years and at least $90 million, which would place Kiffin among the highest-paid coaches in college football.According to the same report, LSU is also prepared to invest more than $25 million in NIL and roster-building support. While Florida is also in the mix for Kiffin, LSU’s surge has instantly […]
Related
Michigan State HC Tom Izzo: Jeremy Fears Jr. ‘As Good As Any Guard I’ve Had’
Jeremy Fears Jr. is off to a spectacular start for the Michigan State Spartans on both ends of the floor, and it shows in the box score.Over Michigan State's last two games, Fears has totaled 26 points, 24 assists and five steals, and the redshirt sophomore guard has caught head coach Tom Izzo's attention."I'm never satisfied. I think his defense can be a little better because I think he's an absolute dog defensively, meaning he'll dog you. Not a dog in a bad way. He can get after you. He's a pitbull in that when he wants to be," Izzo said about Fears after Michigan State's win over Detroit Mercy on Friday night. "Now we're getting him a little rest, 28-29 minutes [per game] is probably perfect if we can do that because he's got to push the ball, he's […]
Sparta zdržovala, mínila Boleslav. Vítej v mém světě, řekl Priske kolegovi
Boleslavský trenér Aleš Majer, který byl v hodně chladném odpoledni do utkání tak ponořen, že koučoval jen ve svetru, se u postranní čáry několikrát chytal za hlavu. Sparťanský kouč Brian Priske se pak dostal do výměny názorů s domácí lavičkou a po utkání si vše vyříkával s vedoucím domácího mužstva Markem Matějovským.Reakce aktérů? „Bylo to úplně v pohodě. Nešlo o nic zásadního. Říkali jsme si (s trenérem Priskem - pozn. aut.) něco k tomu, že Sparta hrála v závěru pomalu. On mi to totiž vytýkal po zápase na Spartě, že po 80. minutě za stavu 2:2 jsme pomalu rozehrávali. Říkal jsem mu, že tady je to to samé,“ vylíčil Majer.Zmínka o tom, že zdržovali, hosty nenechala v klidu. „Nepřijeli jsme sem zdržovat utkání. To nikdy není náš záměr, naopak my jsme ten tým, který chce držet tempo utkání. Ale když máte pět minut do konce, vedete o gól, hráči jsou pod tlakem a mají zodpovědnost […]
Vini Jr e Real Madrid voltam a avançar sobre renovação e tomam decisão
Vini Jr. tem contrato com o Real Madrid até o meio de 2027 (Foto: Magara Press SL/Alamy Live News)Vini Jr e Real Madrid voltaram a tratar da renovação de contrato nas últimas semanas, com mais clareza e menos ruído nos bastidores. A expectativa é de que um novo contrato seja firmado em breve, ampliando o vínculo que hoje termina em junho de 2027. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADEApós uma série de polêmicas que aumentaram a especulação sobre uma possível saída, a direção merengue e o atacante brasileiro alinharam o desejo mútuo de seguir juntos. Segundo o jornal espanhol ‘AS’, ambas as partes enxergam o acordo encaminhado, após um período desgastante de nove meses de negociações.“Eles conversaram recentemente e uma solução está a caminho para que se chegue a um acordo final”, diz o jornal. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADELeia também: Lewandowski pode sair do Barcelona e […]
Slalomář Krejčí je Králem divoké vody za letošní rok, uspěl na MS i ME
Krejčí potvrdil postavení z celosvazové ankety o Kanoistu roku, kde skončil druhý hned za mistrem světa v rychlostní kanoistice Martinem Fuksou. Mezi závodníky na divoké vodě dostal v celkovém pořadí 153 bodů a vyhrál s výrazným náskokem 55 bodů před kanoistou Matějem Vaňkem. „Já jsem celkově vděčný za celou sezonu a tohle už je jenom takový bonus. Je to fajn, je to hezké dojet se podívat do Olomouce a vyzvednout si cenu. Jsem za to rád,“ řekl Krejčí v nahrávce pro média.Druhý Vaněk díky světovému titulu ve sjezdu nechal o sedm bodů za sebou slalomáře Jiřího Prskavce. Ten získal na kajaku evropské zlato a světový bronz.Krejčí vyhrál i hodnocení seniorské kategorie ve vodním slalomu, kde za ním skončil druhý Prskavec. Třetí příčku obsadila kanoistka a kajakářka Gabriela Satková, která loni ovládla celkové pořadí této ankety. Mezi slalomovými nadějemi byli nejlepší juniorský mistr světa na kajaku Michal Kopeček a světový šampion mezi kanoisty do 23 let Lukáš Kratochvíl.Pořadí […]
What now for England after Ashes implosion in Perth?
You head into an intimidating environment with hopes of success and then it goes so epically, spectacularly badly.No, we are not referring to Monty Panesar's appearance on Celebrity Mastermind back in 2019, which made a surprise entry into an eventful Ashes build-up as the former England spinner became embroiled in a spat with current Australia batter Steve Smith Instead, we are talking about England's fortunes in the first Test. As you surely know by now, that match didn't end well for them. It didn't start well for them either (172 all out inside 33 overs on day one) but at lunch on day two they had wrestled control: leading Australia by 99 runs with nine second-innings wickets in hand. Two and half hours later, they had somehow lost, through their own errors and the unbridled brilliance of makeshift opener Travis […]
Lane Kiffin’s Decision Looms as LSU Reportedly Prepares Massive $90M Offer
Lane Kiffin’s decision on his coaching future feels like it's holding college football hostage.Ole Miss confirmed Friday that Kiffin will announce his future on Nov. 29 — one day after the Rebels meet Mississippi State — leaving Florida, LSU, and even his own program stuck in an uncomfortable position.The uncertainty intensified late Friday night, when reports surfaced that LSU officials are preparing to make an aggressive push to pry Kiffin from Oxford, Mississippi. According to a report from Yahoo Sports, key decision-makers are preparing a formal offer that could reach seven years and at least $90 million, which would place Kiffin among the highest-paid coaches in college football.According to the same report, LSU is also prepared to invest more than $25 million in NIL and roster-building support. While Florida is also in the mix for Kiffin, LSU’s surge has instantly […]
Be the first to leave a comment