The Boston Red Sox had won four straight series when they arrived in San Diego from August 8-10, when the Padres killed their momentum.
Walker Buehler started Boston's first game on the West Coast and posted his best outing of the year. Buehler has been the Red Sox's least consistent starter all season, but his scoreless, six-inning outing put the Sox in the best possible position to win the series.
But Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello didn't match up, and San Diego took the final two games from Boston. The Red Sox have come to expect elite outings from the middle of their rotation — the two righties posted a combined 2.25 ERA in the two months leading up to their series against the Padres, but they both looked human (subscription required).
Giolito followed Buehler's electric performance with a four-run, 4.2-inning one. He surrendered five hits, but his biggest issue was his command. Giolito walked six batters, including four straight, which he's never done in his career. Two of those four consecutive walks forced in runs.
Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello's success has been huge part of Red Sox's recent record
The bullpen pitched 4.1 scoreless innings after Alex Cora pulled Giolito in the fifth inning. The Red Sox stretched Giolito to 100 pitches to keep the relievers fresh, but he lost command entirely at the last second. The Red Sox's offense didn't help much, with 15 strikeouts, mostly against the Padres' elite bullpen.
“I lost feel. Lost feel for my mechanics. I just couldn't make the adjustment. It’s inexcusable," Giolito said after the game (via Ian Browne of MLB.com). "I truly believe that if I had just gotten out of that fifth inning, made the adjustment, then we would have won that game.”
Bello allowed five runs on six hits, walked three batters and hit one over 5.2 innings. He still managed seven strikeouts and the Sox's defense didn't help him much, but he couldn't limit damage.
For two months, Giolito found his Cy Young-caliber stuff, Bello posted the best stretch of his career so far, and both were critical to Boston's record from July into August. Yes, the Red Sox offense cut down on its strikeouts and made largely better decisions defensively and on the base paths, but Bello and Giolito turning into Nos. 2 and 3 in the rotation made the bats' jobs much easier.
Boston didn't add another frontline starter at the trade deadline, which was a vote of confidence in Bello and Giolito's abilities to stay consistent. Their next outings will come against the Marlins, where they can hopefully get back on track.