The Red Sox have stumbled out of the gate to begin the 2022 season
The Boston Red Sox dropped their first game of a three-game series in Detroit on Monday to fall to 1-3 this season. The offense appeared lifeless against the Tigers pitching staff, building upon a concerning trend that this lineup has established in the early going.
Through four games, the Red Sox have scored a total of only 12 runs and they have produced a collective .308 slugging percentage, both of which rank 12th in the American League. They sit dead-last in the league with a .173 batting average and .243 on-base percentage. This is far from the fearful offense we expected to see.
As frustrating as it has been to see this lineup sputter out of the gate, manager Alex Cora isn’t stressing about the lack of productivity. Baseball can be a streaky game and he trusts the talent on his roster to turn it around, according to MLB.com.
"“[I’m] surprised, but if this is how we’re talking right now, we should be fine,” Cora said. “We pitched well, they scored three. I believe we’re going to score runs. Just a matter, to be honest with you, of [slowing] the game down now and [not trying] to do too much, just … start putting good at-bats.“[Alex Verdugo] put some good at-bats today, so I think it’s just [about not getting] caught up on the results, just get back to the process. … Just fight at-bats, keep going and get to the bullpen. If we do that, we should be OK.”"
Sometimes you put together a good at-bat and still come away empty. Rafael Devers was crushing the ball in the series opener against the Tigers with three balls put in play that had an exit velocity of over 101 mph, per Baseball Savant. Unfortunately, one of those balls was a line drive directly into the shift. Devers doubled to deep left in the ninth inning, bringing the tying run to the plate, but a J.D. Martinez fly ball with an exit velocity of 102 mph was caught on the warning track to end the game.
Boston managed only one run on four hits against Detroit but credit the Tigers defense for robbing them of a few hits.
El Mago doing El Mago things. pic.twitter.com/Ynp6P52Uks
— MLB (@MLB) April 11, 2022
Cora isn’t one to give excuses but there are plenty of valid reasons for his team’s sluggish start. Following a Sunday Night Baseball game in New York that didn’t end until around 11:00 p.m., the Red Sox didn’t arrive in Detroit until after 3:00 a.m. Then they had to wake up to prepare for an unusual 5:00 p.m. start time against the Tigers.
Cora was quick to praise Tigers starter Matt Manning, who in fairness was throwing the ball much better than pitcher who posted a 5.80 ERA as a rookie last year, but the Red Sox would typically hammer this type of pitcher.
A lack of sleep had to have been a factor but those travel issues are part of the game so the manager isn’t going to complain about it. The Red Sox will have an off day to rest on Thursday before they return to Fenway Park for their home opener, where the travel advantage will swing in their favor.
We also can’t overlook that some hitters are still trying to catch up from the shortened training camp, which was delayed by the lockout. Some players take longer than others to ramp up and the alteration to their routine could lead to those hitters struggling to find their timing at the plate.
That’s particularly true for Trevor Story, who arrived late in camp after being among the last of the star free-agents to sign. Story is off to a 1-for-8 start this season and will miss his second consecutive game today with an illness. A hitter of his caliber returning to form will make a significant difference but it’s going to take time for him to catch up.
The Red Sox started out far worse last season when they were swept at home by the Baltimore Orioles and scored only five runs during the three-game series. You would think that the sky was falling in Boston based on the reaction to one awful series, especially since it was on the heels of a miserable 2020 season. The Red Sox followed with a nine-game winning streak in which they scored 67 runs.
The switch can flip at any moment. That’s baseball. Boston’s bats are struggling now but it’s a tiny sample size that will quickly be forgotten once they begin to heat up.