TAMPA, Fla. – For the final week, the Crimson Sox may a minimum of make some excuses for this depressing stretch.
It was horribly frigid and moist at Fenway Park for almost all the first homestand, which included a rainout and ensuing doubleheader throughout the opening sequence with the St. Louis Cardinals, and several other extra-inning video games. Boston misplaced beginning catcher Connor Wong to a hand fracture final Monday. Rafael Devers barely had a spring coaching and continues to be understanding the kinks. They’re grinding via a stretch of 20 video games in 21 days to start the season.
So on, so forth.
However as they misplaced to the Tampa Bay Rays 16-1 in Monday night time’s sequence opener, even essentially the most legitimate excuses died on the warning monitor.
Going through this Rays crew, which was displaced by Hurricane Milton final fall and compelled to sublet the Yankees’ spring coaching complicated for the season, the Crimson Sox didn’t pitch, didn’t hit, and didn’t discipline.
Final yr, batters trying to find that large hit towards Tanner Houck got here up empty almost each time. In a career-high 30 begins, he solely let 11 balls depart the yard. He additionally dominated Tampa Bay batters final season, posting a 1.08 ERA and holding them to simply two earned runs over 16.2 innings in three begins towards the Rays.
On Monday night time, the Rays tore into the Crimson Sox righty from the very first pitch, which leadoff man Yandy Díaz blasted 415 toes for a house run. The Rays had been up 5-0 after the second, and ran away with it within the third, tacking on one other 9 runs. Their 14 runs and 13 hits within the first three frames are each franchise data. In accordance with Rays media relations, it was the second time in franchise historical past that each hitter within the lineup collected a run and RBI.
“Not good,” a downcast Houck mentioned postgame. “Not day all-around.”
The majority of the harm belonged to Houck – a brand new career-high 12 runs (11 earned) on 10 hits, two walks, and just one strikeout in 2.1 innings, his shortest begin ever – who allowed essentially the most runs by a Crimson Sox starter since Galen Cisco on July 27, 1962.
“Looks as if their recreation plan was on-point towards him,” mentioned supervisor Alex Cora, although he famous that he didn’t assume Houck was tipping his pitches. “In the event you take a look at the balls they hit laborious, they had been in the midst of the plate. After all, there have been some balls that glided by, we didn’t play good protection behind him, so I don’t know, simply good strategy.”
The Crimson Sox protection additionally continues to look extra Swiss-cheese than Swiss Military Knife. A number of fielding selections veered into error territory, however Alex Bregman was the one defender charged with one.
“(We’re) not enjoying our model of baseball. It’s been actual sloppy on each side,” mentioned shortstop Trevor Story. “It’s laborious to win if you’re not enjoying effectively on protection and we’re not stringing at-bats collectively.”
It was the form of lovely, balmy night time when the ball can soar out of the ballpark, as evidenced by the Rays’ season-high 16 runs and 15-run margin of victory, which tied the franchise report. But even in a ballpark with an identical dimensions to Yankee Stadium, a spot the place many Boston batters hit effectively, their lone run was a solo homer by rookie Kristian Campbell, who continues to be a brilliant spot in a quickly darkening frieze.
“It looks like there was a crew that was ready for the opposite one, the opposite one wasn’t ready for them,” mentioned Cora. “That wasn’t night time for us, and I’ll take the blame, as a result of it appeared like our crew wasn’t prepared.”
All through this stretch, the Crimson Sox have nearly grow to be formulaic. The cadence of their at-bats is predictable. It’s all however assured they’ll go rapidly and quietly. By the tip of their facet of the fifth inning, they’d struck out 10 occasions. They completed the night time with six hits and 14 strikeouts.
The Crimson Sox have misplaced six of their final eight.
“The protection has been unhealthy, the offense has been unhealthy, and we’ve been inconsistent pitching-wise,” Cora mentioned. “These are the three pillars of baseball, and we haven’t been good.”
The Crimson Sox are presupposed to be higher than this. The entrance workplace lastly spent cash to discipline a greater crew than this. The gamers on this roster have proven that they are often so a lot better than this.
So what offers?
And what, if something, fixes this crew?
“We have now to play higher, we all know that,” Cora mentioned. “For us to be the place we wish to be, we’ve got to be constant within the issues that we do. And truthfully, we’ve been constantly unhealthy the final 10 days.”
Harm updates
Lucas Giolito (hamstring) will make his third rehab begin for Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday, adopted by Brayan Bello (shoulder) on Wednesday. Bello is forward of Giolito, Cora mentioned on Monday afternoon. Giolito is probably going going to wish a minimum of yet another rehab outing earlier than being activated.
Reliever Liam Hendriks can also be slated to make yet another rehab look. The plan is for him to be activated throughout the upcoming homestand with the Chicago White Sox this weekend.
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