Boston Red Sox: Plenty of time to turn season around
Worries are abound for the Boston Red Sox regarding their fate in the 2022 MLB season. All is not lost, however, as little glimmers of hope have popped up the latter part of this week.
Struggles can be pinpointed to sporadic bullpen issues and an inability to score runs (or come up with a key hit, for that matter). Toss in some hard luck and it’s a perfect storm of reasons as to why the Red Sox occupy the cellar in the A.L. East.
A desire to give up on this team is well-placed. Yet, with season not quite 20 percent complete, there’s plenty of time to stick with this club, see where they’re at June 1, and not throw in the towel.
Boston Red Sox: Script changer in close games
A 7-1 victory over the Texas Rangers kicked off a weekend series in Arlington. It was their second victory in three games, and the Red Sox won with relative ease. In doing so, they avoided some of the hard luck losses in close games that have dominated the early season.
The above-mentioned issues are at the forefront, with the inability to close out games. In some, the key hit (or hits) elude them. In other losses, where the offense has shown up, the bullpen has let games slip away.
The Red Sox are 0-6 in extra-inning games in 2022. At 12-20, even a split of those games would mean a 15-17 record and not as much dread surrounding this team.
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In addition to those extra-inning losses, Boston has five losses when they are leading or tied after the fifth inning.
A cherry on top is that the Red Sox have 13 losses of three runs or less, of which included seven losses by a run. (Though they do have six victories in one-run games, too.)
Struggles at the plate have contributed to this 3-7 record in May. In seven losses, Boston plated 18 runs, with 10 of those coming in two games. The victories, however, have seen the Red Sox score 20.
It’s not much, but in their last two wins Boston has scored 16 runs, meaning it’s with great hope the bats are finally waking up.
Boston Red Sox rallying as a team
The core trio of Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, and J.D. Martinez are doing their part, at least with collecting hits. All three are hitting over .300 and Devers leads the team with 16 RBI, with Martinez at 15. The three have combined to hit 10 of Boston’s 18 home runs.
On a more positive note, the Red Sox do have 63 doubles on the season, with Devers, Bogaerts, and Martinez combining for 29. Meaningless, yes, unless they are being converted to runs but still a sign things can turn around.
A shake-up in the lineup seems to have jostled players awake, too. Eight players collected hits in Friday’s victory. And Trevor Story is 4-12 in this last three games with five RBI.
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First-base is still an issue. Bobby Dalbec has not risen to meet expectations, especially after such a strong close to 2021. And Franchy Cordero has taken over the duties there as of late, though a 2-10 performance isn’t a whole lot better.
Cordero does offer a better eye and got on base with three walks in Tuesday’s victory over the Atlanta Braves.
A bright spot has been the starting rotation. Getting them a deeper into games is a must — only five quality starts — but it does appear Boston has settled into a starting five that can be efficient. Three of the five have ERAs under 3.00, with Nathan Eovaldi just above that mark.
And the fifth, Nick Pivetta, had his best start of the season against the Rangers on Friday, tossing seven innings of 3-hit ball.
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It’s not perfect and the results as of late aren’t exactly life changing. But the Red Sox are showing signs of life. Keep that going, along with solid starting pitching and a flip of bullpen consistency, and by this time next month, the Boston Red Sox can be back in the thick of things. A little luck would be nice as well, helping turn those close losses into more wins. And, in turn, more hope.