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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 14, 2022 3:47:01 GMT -5
This skid versus the Rays has exposed the Red Sox for what they are not: playoff worthy By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated July 13, 2022, 11:20 p.m.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It’s convenient to dismiss the day-to-day foibles of the Red Sox by pointing out that if the season were over, they’d still be in the playoffs.
It’s time to put that rationalization in the trash. The way the Sox are playing now, they’d get embarrassed in a postseason setting.
Their slide continued on Wednesday night with a 4-1 loss against the Tampa Bay Rays. That’s seven losses in the last nine games.
Baseball teams invariably go through slumps. The issue with the Red Sox has been repeated incidents of poor fundamental play leading to losses. Related: Red Sox quiet at the plate, sloppy in the field again in another loss to the Rays
“I don’t want to say we’re playing bad, but we’re playing a team you can’t make mistakes against,” shortstop Xander Bogaerts said. “They take advantage of that.”
The latest two examples came on Wednesday.
With the Sox trailing, 2-0, in the fourth inning, Rafael Devers doubled with one out. With fellow All-Star J.D. Martinez at the plate, a high pitch from Shane McClanahan deflected off the glove of catcher Francisco Mejia.
Devers, who recently missed three consecutive games with a sore lower back, took off for third and was thrown out.
It was too aggressive, especially with Martinez up.
“You’ve got to slow it down,” manager Alex Cora said.
That’s the heart of the issue. The Sox are too often acting without first taking the situation into account.
It happened again in the seventh inning. With the Rays leading, 3-1, Josh Lowe drew a walk. Yandy Diaz singled to shallow right field with two outs and Lowe, running on contact, raced to third.
Rob Refsynder was slow running the ball in and casually flipped a throw to shortstop Xander Bogaerts.
Third base coach Rodney Linares was watching and waved Lowe in. He scored as the low throw skipped away from Bogaerts.
It was telling that the Rays were prepared for the Sox to make a mistake. Had Refsynder fielded the ball and promptly thrown it to Bogaerts, Lowe would have stayed at third.
On Monday, Jarren Duran singled in a run then took too much of a turn around first. The Rays cut the throw to the plate and threw Duran out going back to the base for the final out of the inning with Christian Vázquez on deck.
On Tuesday. Alex Verdugo was picked off third in the seventh inning with the Sox down a run.
“Those are the sort of things we’re not doing well. We’re not playing good baseball right now,” Cora said. “A lot of mistakes and it’s costing us games. We need to start playing better baseball if we want to be the team that we envisioned in spring training.”
That the Red Sox have dealt with injuries to several key players can’t be an excuse. The Rays have 16 players on the injured list, catcher Mike Zunino, shortstop Wander Franco and center fielder Kevin Kiermaier among them.
“They keep playing; they play 27 outs and they’re playing good baseball,” Cora said. “They’re pitching and they’re hustling. That’s why they keep winning.
“There’s no surprise. It’s not analytics, or this and that. They play 27 outs; they play hard. When you see them on the other side it’s impressive what they’re doing.”
Cora’s praise for Tampa Bay was equally an acknowledgement of his team’s poor play.
Bogaerts gets it.
“You can’t give them extra outs,” he said. “These guys, man, they’re solid . . . That’s how you should play baseball.”
The Sox are 11-23 in the American League East, a .323 winning percentage. That they are 36-19 outside the division doesn’t matter.
Baseball is not easily comparable to college basketball. But as a young writer covering UConn and coach Jim Calhoun, one of his memorable tenets was that a team had to win games in its neighborhood because that is where they will ultimately be judged.
For the Huskies, it was the Big East. For the Red Sox it’s the AL East.
Right now, the Rays are taking their lunch money.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 14, 2022 3:51:08 GMT -5
Mistakes haunt Red Sox again in another frustrating loss to Rays: ‘We’re not playing good baseball right now’ Red Sox lose another A.L. East series
By Steve Hewitt | stephen.hewitt@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald PUBLISHED: July 13, 2022 at 10:05 p.m. | UPDATED: July 13, 2022 at 11:14 p.m.
If the Red Sox are going to start beating teams in the division on a consistent basis, they need to stop beating themselves first.
In yet another loss to an American League East team on Wednesday night, the Red Sox continued that troubling theme. On a night when there was no room for error as they went up against Rays ace Shane McClanahan, too many mistakes once again doomed them in a 4-1 defeat at Tropicana Field. Boston has dropped three consecutive games and will need to win Thursday night’s finale to avoid a sweep.
“We’re not playing good baseball right now,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters in Tampa. “A lot of mistakes and it’s costing us games. We need to start playing better baseball if we want to be the team that we envisioned in spring training.”
With the loss, the Red Sox lost their ninth series in 10 against the division, with the other being the split with the Yankees last weekend. They’re 11-23 this season against A.L. East teams.
The takeaways: 1. Another inexcusable mistake
On Monday night, defensive lapses sealed a Red Sox loss. Alex Verdugo was picked off third in a critical spot in Tuesday’s ugly defeat. Wednesday, a lack of fundamentals cost the Red Sox another run.
Trailing 3-1 in the seventh, Jake Diekman’s struggles continued as he walked Josh Lowe. But with two outs, the defense behind him let him down. Yandy Diaz hit a sharp grounder that rolled past a diving Jeter Downs at second, and then Lowe caught the Red Sox asleep.
Rob Refsnyder was too slow getting the ball back into the infield. Downs was seemingly nowhere to be found as a cutoff man, forcing Refsynder to throw the ball across the field to Bogaerts, who let the ball bounce by him. An alert Lowe took full advantage as he went all the way from first to score on the play.
It was the latest inexcusable mistake in a week full of them, and Cora isn’t letting his team use their injury situation as an excuse, especially as they face a Rays team that leads the league in players on the injured list.
“There’s a lot of moving parts, but you know what, they have a lot of moving parts,” Cora told reporters. “They have a lot of injuries, and they keep playing. They play 27 outs and they’re playing good baseball. They’re pitching and they’re hustling. That’s why they keep winning. There’s no surprise. It’s not analytics or this and that. They play 27 outs. They play hard. When you see them on the other side, it’s impressive what they’re doing. They have a lot of injuries, too, and they’re playing very, very hard.” 2. Sox struggle to capitalize on McClanahan
As expected, offensive opportunities were at a premium against McClanahan, who’s an early Cy Young favorite and looks like an easy choice to start for the American League in next week’s All-Star Game. He struck out six over 6 1/3 innings and allowed just one run on Wednesday, but the Red Sox threw away their chances to do damage.
The toughest sequence came in the fourth, when Rafael Devers smoked a one-out double to right as the Red Sox tried to rally from 2-0 down. But on the next pitch, he was thrown out. Facing J.D. Martinez, McClanahan’s pitch squirted away from catcher Francisco Mejia. Devers took off for third, but he made a mistake on his read. The ball didn’t get far enough away from Mejia, who recovered to dig it out of the dirt and throw Devers out at third.
It was a bad out to make under any circumstances, but especially with a pitcher as good as McClanahan on the mound with one of their best hitters at the plate. Devers is also nursing a sore back, and Cora doesn’t want his star pushing it.
“We’re upset because he made the out but I’m more upset that he tried to go over there knowing that we don’t want him to do that,” Cora told reporters. “But that’s who he is. He’s going to play hard and he’s going to keep going.”
The Red Sox’ only run came in the fifth, but they could have had more. Bogaerts and Verdugo singled to put runners on first and third with no outs, but Christian Vazquez grounded out into a double play, which scored Bogaerts but ruined the rally. Boston didn’t threaten again. 3. Walks cost Winckowski again
Josh Winckowski was effective over six innings as he struck out five and gave up three runs on four hits. But after facing Gerrit Cole last Friday, the rookie was up against one of the best pitchers in the league for a second consecutive start. His room for error was slim, and walks came back to haunt him again.
After two shutout innings to start the game, Winckowski struggled in the third. It started with a four-pitch leadoff walk to No. 8 hitter Lowe, then No. 9 hitter Mejia singled. That invited trouble, and a team as good as the Rays capitalized. Ji-Man Choi hit an RBI single before Harold Ramirez hit a bloop single over Bobby Dalbec’s head to put Tampa up 2-0, and that proved to be the difference.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 14, 2022 3:53:05 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 6h Bogey: "I'm not saying we're playing bad, I really don't feel like we're playing bad, but this series these guys don't give you an extra out, don't make mistakes besides on the bases creating opportunities, defensively these guys are just solid, they've taken advantage of us."
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 14, 2022 3:55:38 GMT -5
Red Sox @ Rays Thursday, 14th July 2022 7pm @ Trop
Crawford 2-2/4.50
Rasmussen 5-3/3.11
Reeling Red Sox look to stop slide in series finale vs. Rays FLM
Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora is growing increasingly frustrated with his team as it enters the finale of its four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The Red Sox have lost the first three games of the series, and Wednesday's poor showing left Cora simmering in the clubhouse. Boston managed just five hits in a 4-1 loss.
"We're not playing good baseball right now," Cora said. "There's a lot of mistakes, and it's costing us games. We need to start playing better baseball if we want to be the team that we envisioned in spring training."
While the Red Sox have dropped 11 of their last 16 games, Tampa Bay is 8-4 in its last 12 -- including 8-1 against AL East opponents.
The injury-riddled Rays drew praise from Cora after Wednesday's contest.
"They play 27 outs, and they're playing good baseball," he said. "When you see them on the other side, it's impressive what they're doing. They have a lot of injuries, and they're playing very hard."
Taylor Walls homered in Wednesday's victory for Tampa Bay, which took an early 3-0 lead behind ace Shane McClanahan.
The 25-year-old McClanahan earned his 10th victory and made a strong case to start next week's All-Star Game, allowing one run on three hits over 6 1/3 innings to lower his ERA to 1.71.
Right-hander Drew Rasmussen (5-3, 3.11 ERA) will take the mound for Tampa Bay in the series finale. He tossed four scoreless innings against the Cincinnati Reds last Saturday, allowing four hits while striking out six.
Rasmussen, 26, was making his second start following a three-week stint on the injured list due to an ailing hamstring. He hasn't thrown more than 88 pitches in any of his 14 appearances this season.
Alex Verdugo is 3-for-6 against Rasmussen, who is 1-0 with a 2.30 ERA in five career games (three starts) against the Red Sox.
Boston will counter on Thursday with rookie right-hander Kutter Crawford (2-2, 4.50), who received a no-decision after allowing one run on four hits over five innings against the New York Yankees last Saturday.
Crawford, 26, owns a 38-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 12 games (three starts) this season.
Boston is monitoring the status of second baseman Trevor Story (hand) and reliever Matt Strahm (wrist) after both players were injured in Tuesday's game. X-rays on both players were negative, and they're listed as day-to-day.
The Red Sox have lost their last five meetings against Tampa Bay, which could have second baseman Brandon Lowe back in the lineup this weekend. Lowe has been out since May 16 with a lower-back injury.
Rays manager Kevin Cash has been pleased with how his team has responded despite missing several key players to injury, including shortstop Wander Franco (fractured right hamate bone) and outfielders Kevin Kiermaier (left-hip inflammation) and Manuel Margot (right-knee sprain).
"You've got to make the most of the roster that you have," Cash said. "Look, it presents really quality opportunities for some young players that, with good health and good fortune, might not be getting that this year. We've gotten a lot of it, and hopefully we're going to continue to find ways to be better from it."
--Field Level Media
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 14, 2022 10:38:18 GMT -5
Alex Cora isn't happy, and he shouldn't be Current Time 0:01 / Duration 1:11
By Rob Bradford WEEI 93.7 2 hours ago
The other day White Sox manager Tony La Russa offered a unique way to explain away the frustrations of his underachieving club.
"At some point, your skin has to get tough," he noted. "You have to have scabs. It’s been rough enough. You don’t walk through the season, show up in October and not have any scars. We keep our toughness going; this is putting stuff in the bank that will pay off later."
Alex Cora, it seems, is taking a bit different tact.
The Red Sox manager had no more time for scabs, scars or any other injury-related metaphors. This is about the here and the now for Cora's club, and the here is from the picture the health.
In other words, even with all their injuries, the Red Sox shouldn't be experiencing the kind of pain that came with dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rays at Tropicana Field Wednesday night.
Sure, the Red Sox are currently a Wild Card team - deadlocked with Toronto and Seattle for the final spot with the Orioles now just two games back. But this is a team that has lost seven of 10, three in a row and is simply playing bad baseball against the teams they are being judged against.
"We're not playing good baseball right now," Cora told reporters. "It's a lot of mistakes and it's costing us games. We need to start playing better baseball if we want to be the team we envisioned in Spring Training."
The manager added, "There's a lot of moving parts but they've (the Rays) got a lot of moving parts, they have a lot of injuries and they keep playing. They play 27 outs and they're playing good baseball and they're pitching and they're hustling and that's why they keep winning."
The latest microcosm when it comes to the Red Sox' frustration came when Tampa Bay's Josh Lowe was able to score from first on a seeing-eye single to right field. The run was made possible by right fielder's Rob Refsnyder's initial indecision charging in on the Yandy Diaz grounder, and then subsequent confusion as to where he should throw the ball.
"Yeah, I mean, completely my fault, just a bad play," Refsnyder told MLB.com. "I'm still pretty frustrated about it. Yeah, I mean, I take full responsibility for it. Yandy hit a hard ground ball, Jeter [Downs] dove for it, the runner was going to third on the play, I picked it up and I kind of lost track of where Bogey was, so as I was running in, I was trying to find him."
Sure, Chris Sale is back and Nathan Eovaldi and Garrett Whitlock aren't far behind them. But the vim and vigor found with this team a couple of weeks ago has left the building at just the wrong time, having test themselves against the division's iron in St. Petersburg and the Bronx.
"We had a great weekend, I'm not going to blast them," Cora told reporters. "But you have to keep playing. Like I said, nobody is going to feel sorry for your injuries or whatever. You have to show up every day and we've been very sloppy lately and we've got to get better."
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 14, 2022 10:41:52 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 58m The 16 game skid goes back to 6/27. .249/.307/.385, 93 wRC+ from the offense. Subdued bats; Devers, Refsnyder, Verdugo lead the way at only 114-116 wRC+. JBJ, Duran are really the only bad strugglers.
SP: 0-7, 73 IP. 7.03 ERA, 5.05 FIP
RP: 68 IP, 3.18 ERA, 3.26 FIP, 1 SV, 5 BS
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 14, 2022 10:42:44 GMT -5
Jon Couture @joncouture · 1h Things That Are Surprising: Gaudreau to Columbus (even when the alternative was apparently Newark).
Things That Are Not: #RedSox going from momentum laden to three straight losses in Tampa in the blink of an eye.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 14, 2022 13:10:41 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 1h Out of the 3rd and 4th spots in the batting order, the Red Sox rank 1st in batting average, 1st in on-base percentage, and 3rd in wRC+… however their 18 home runs rank 27th and 84 RBI rank 24th. Weird year.
Since the start of June, Bogaerts has had a major power outage. He has hit 7 balls that are categorized as either barrels or solid contact. That ranks 174th/194 batters. He's been hitting more like a leadoff hitter than run producer.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 14, 2022 13:19:44 GMT -5
Game 90: Red Sox at Rays lineups and notesBy Matt Pepin Globe Staff,Updated July 14, 2022, 9:43 a.m. The slumping Red Sox face the prospect of a four-game sweep by the Rays on Thursday following Wednesday’s 4-1 loss at Tropicana Field. The good news is Boston’s scheduled starter on Thursday, righthander Kutter Crawford, has been solid in his last two outings, pitching at least five innings vs. both the Rays and Yankees and allowing six hits and just one run. He picked up the win vs. the Rays last week but had a no-decision vs. the Yankees. Crawford’s ERA has dropped from 11.57 at the beginning of May to 4.50 after 12 appearances. He’ll be opposed by righty Drew Rasmussen, who has not faced the Red Sox this season. Lineups RED SOX (47-42): 1. Jarren Duran (L) RF 2. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 3. J.D. Martinez (R) DH 4. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS 5. Alex Verdugo (L) LF 6. Franchy Cordero (L) 1B 7. Kevin Plawecki (R) C 8. Jackie Bradley Jr. (L) CF 9. Jeter Downs (R) 2B Pitching: RHP Kutter Crawford (2-2, 4.50 ERA) RAYS (48-40): 1. Yandy Diaz (R) 3B 2. Ji-Man Choi (L) 1B 3. Harold Ramirez (R) DH 4. Jonathan Aranda (L) 2B 5. Christian Bethancourt (R) C 6. Josh Lowe (L) RF 7. Taylor Walls (S) SS 8. Luke Raley (L) LF 9. Brett Phillips (L) CF Pitching: RHP Drew Rasmussen (5-3, 3.11 ERA) Time: 7:10 p.m. TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7 Red Sox vs. Rasmussen: Xander Bogaerts 0-2, Franchy Cordero 0-1, Bobby Dalbec 0-1, Rafael Devers 2-7, Jarren Duran 0-3, J.D. Martinez 2-9, Kevin Plawecki 0-2, Alex Verdugo 3-6, Christian Vázquez 2-5 Rays vs. Crawford: Brett Phillips 1-4, Randy Arozarena 0-3, Ji-Man Choi 0-3, Josh Lowe 0-3, Francisco Mejía 0-3, Harold Ramirez 0-2, Yandy Díaz 1-2, Isaac Paredes 0-1, Taylor Walls 0-1, Mike Zunino 0-2 Stat of the day: The Red Sox have lost 11 of their last 16; The Rays have won eight of their last 12. Notes: Rasmussen pitched four scoreless innings against the Reds on Saturday, allowing four hits while striking out six in his second start following a three-week stint on the injured list because of a hamstring injury ... Alex Verdugo is 3-for-6 against Rasmussen, who is 1-0 with a 2.30 ERA in five career games (three starts) against the Red Sox ... Crawford has a 38-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 12 games (three starts) this season ... Red Sox second baseman Trevor Story (hand) and reliever Matt Strahm (wrist) remain day-to-day ... The Red Sox have lost their last five meetings against the Rays. Song of the Day: The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xoCaVKfRPw
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 14, 2022 14:09:47 GMT -5
Rays tonight
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 14, 2022 14:48:14 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 42m Duran moved to a corner spot
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 14, 2022 16:44:39 GMT -5
dear jesus
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne · 1h Darwinzon Hernandez is back with the Red Sox. This could mean Matt Strahm is going on the injured list. No moves announced yet.
Josh Winckowski tested positive for COVID, creating the roster spot for Darwinzon Hernandez. Matt Strahm staying on the roster for now. Situation is fluid. They will need roster spots Friday for Eovaldi and Whitlock.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 14, 2022 16:45:32 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 43m #RedSox updates:
* Winckowski has Covid. On IL. * Eovaldii, Whitlock back tomorrow * Story doing better, will take grounders. * Strahm an IL candidate. * Hernandez saw a hip specialist in NYC
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 14, 2022 16:48:35 GMT -5
Chris Cotillo @chriscotillo · 1h Josh Winckowski tested positive for COVID. Darwinzon Hernández replacing him on roster.
Trevor Story likely to avoid IL. Matt Strahm could go on IL if he can’t play catch tomorrow. Eovaldi, Whitlock likely active tomorrow.
Kiké Hernández visiting hip specialist in NYC.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 14, 2022 16:52:04 GMT -5
Jen McCaffrey @jcmccaffrey · 27m Cora doesn’t think Story will need the IL just another day or so. He’s taking grounders today and throwing. They’re going to see if Strahm can play catch tomorrow and if he can’t grip the ball well enough they’ll likely make an IL move for him
LHP Darwinzon Hernandez is likely to be activated tonight. No corresponding move yet. Hernandez had surgery for a meniscus tear in mid May.
Darwinzon Hernandez has faced 14 batters since returning from the IL in Worcester on July 4. He’s allowed two hits and two walks while striking out six.
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