The Boston Red Sox have started out slow in July
It’s no secret to anyone that the Boston Red Sox experienced a very slow start to the season. Nobody thought that this team was outright bad, even less thought they were as bad as they looked to start out the year. However, June saw a miraculous change in the team. The Sox went 20-6 that month, and put themselves back in contention for an eventual Wild Card spot at the end of the season.
July saw a pretty torrid first series. The Red Sox dropped the first two of a three-game set at Wrigley Field, against a Chicago Cubs side which is in the midst of a total rebuild. The Sox needed 11 innings and a throwing error in the third game in order to prevent the Cubs from flying another ‘W’.
This week, the Sox won their first game of an AL East homestand against the Tampa Bay Rays, but lost their second, Tuesday night. The Red Sox scored four runs in each of these games, after scoring 10 over 29 innings at Wrigley, underlining a real need for this offense to get going if they are to get through this tough schedule at least somewhat unscathed.
It’s been far from smooth sailing for Boston, both on and off the field, so far this year. Starting another year off without ace, Chris Sale, with James Paxton still injured, and losing Nathan Eovaldi to the injured list, the Sox haven’t really had any leeway for their lineup to go through unproductive spells.
The Red Sox bullpen has been middle of the pack, with a 3.64 ERA, and the starters have done their job a lot of the time. However, when you’re missing significant faces from your pitching staff, you really need your lineup to be reaching its true potential.
Individually, the Red Sox star hitters are having great years, but the team is struggling on a number of occasions to put at-bats together. Rafael Devers is having an MVP-worthy campaign, leading the league with 104 hits with a .327 BA, whilst J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts are hitting .312 and .318, respectively. Despite a tough start at the plate, new addition Trevor Story is leading the ballclub with 54 RBI, and the Sox are getting productivity from other areas too. It’s just a matter of everybody clicking at once, which hasn’t happened near as much as the Sox need it too.
The Sox have gone on win-streaks, like we saw in June, but when the losses come they seem to keep on coming as well. The Sox have the talent there to put games together and keep that win column ticking over, and they can’t afford for the foot to come off the gas, not right now. This stretch will be a fundamental one in how this season eventually pans out.
The Sox follow up this Rays series by welcoming the rival New York Yankees to Fenway for a four-game set, before travelling to Tampa Bay for four games, and then Yankee Stadium for three games before the All-Star break commences. It won’t get much easier following the break, as the Sox will then get a homestand facing three strong sides in Toronto, Cleveland, and Milwaukee.
It’s now more important than ever that the lineup can start piling on the runs. Five series’ in a row against division rivals – all teams that have aspirations beyond simply making it to October.