Red Sox can’t seem to do anything right in 9-1 loss to Rangers
At the end of last week, the Red Sox seemed to be making a comeback after winning the series against the Chicago White Sox 3-1. Cody Ross hit a walkoff home run to lead to the Red Sox to an inspiring 3-1 victory in their last game against the White Sox, which gave Red Sox Nation some hope that the second half of the season would prove more successful than the first. That hope has been quickly shattered. In four days, the Red Sox have lost four games and allowed 37 runs, dropping into last place in the division and falling below .500 on the season.
In Monday night’s game against the Rangers, the Red Sox had no answer for the nine runs Texas produced. It looked like the Red Sox were off to a good start when Jarrod Saltalamacchia homered in the second and gave the Sox their only run of the game. But after the second inning, it was all downhill. Felix Doubront struggled in the third and gave up four runs. Dustin Pedroia had a huge error in the third, when he caught up to a ground ball down the middle from Elvis Andrus but then launched the ball over Adrian Gonzalez’s head.
Doubront only lasted a short time into the sixth inning after he let up two more runs. Franklin Morales relieved Doubront but didn’t do much to help out the Sox as he allowed three more runs.
Downers:
– The Red Sox are now 48-49 after Monday night’s game, meaning that they dropped below .500 and are sitting in last place in the standings. While not out of the running for the wildcard, the road to the playoffs is getting tougher each day for the Red Sox.
-Big hitter David Ortiz is on the disabled list for at least another week with an injury to his Achilles. In his absence, the Red Sox offense has been mostly anemic.
– Pitching has been one of the biggest problems for the Red Sox and they cannot seem to get a consistently good performance from anyone. Doubront was suppose to be one of Boston’s better pitchers, yet he had one of his worsts starts this year in his Monday performance against the Rangers.
Bright Spots:
– Saltalamacchia’s second inning home run was his 19th home run of the year. After the game, he told reporters, “I feel good. I’m not missing any pitches. I’m getting a pitch up and driving it, which is something I did in the first half. If I can continue that stretch and start swinging better at pitches like tonight, I’ll be OK.” Whether the team will be okay is another matter.
Looking Ahead:
If the Red Sox don’t step up their play, they could be looking at a difficult end to their week. They still have to finish out their three-game series with the Rangers and can hopefully come away with some better play and some wins. After the Sox finish off the series with the Rangers Wednesday night, they go to New York to take on the Yankees in a three-game weekend series.
The road back to .500 begins Tuesday night when the Red Sox send Clay Buchholz to the mound to face Rangers rookie Martin Perez. The game starts at 8:05 p.m. ET.
