Red Sox being swept by Pirates could be the wake-up call team needs
Sometimes, the bitterness of defeat displays a more powerful message than the thrill of victory. If you’re a Boston Red Sox fan; you’re hoping that statement holds true!
After starting the season with a series win over the Baltimore Orioles, the Red Sox had the Pittsburgh Pirates come to town for a three game series. A lot of fans, including myself, figured this would be a series that they take two out of three and move to 4-2 on the season. Boy, were we wrong!
The Pirates opened the series with a 7-6 win on Monday, a game in which the Red Sox led 5-3 after the first inning.
In the second game, the bats were finally silenced. One run in the first inning was all the Red Sox could muster as they dropped game two of the series 4-1.
Game three featured a decent pitching performance from Corey Kluber. But the Red Sox bats were once again silenced in another 4-1 loss to complete the sweep for the Pirates.
It’s embarrassing, yes. Frustrating? Absolutely. But honestly, this could be the wake-up call that this team needs.
Boston Red Sox putting all three phases of the game together
The phrase that I use constantly to describe the last few seasons of Red Sox baseball is simple: consistently inconsistent.
That’s the sign of a mediocre baseball team that can’t truly contend. When the bats come alive, pitchers can’t keep runs off of the board. When the pitching shows up, the bats unexpectedly go quiet. When both of those show up, the defense has a letdown game consisting of errors and silly mistakes.
The best teams in the MLB have all of these clicking at the same time. Look at what championship caliber teams do. Timely hitting, good pitching, and solid defense. That’s the formula the Red Sox need to follow!
Boston Red Sox not falling into the 2022 trap
With the 2022 Red Sox, it seemed like whatever game they could lose, they would lose. The feeling of the last Pittsburgh series seemed eerily familiar to last season.
Want your voice heard? Join the Chowder And Champions team!
The vibes were supposedly high in Spring Training and that’s great. Bring them over to every series in 2023. They did it in the Baltimore series and look what happened: a series win. Remember when in 2022, the Red Sox didn’t win an A.L. East series until August? That wasn’t very fun!
So this team needs to be better and figure out how to play more consistently. Once the Tigers series is done, they get the Rays for four on the road. For the Red Sox to have any chance this season of being competitive, they need to show they can beat the good teams inside their own division and beyond.
Hopefully this isn’t the first of many bad series to come for this Red Sox team. For the realists and pessimists, it’s understandable to be rightfully upset and frustrated. But I’m going to be cautiously optimistic and say it’s too early to write the Red Sox off (for now!) for the season.
dark. Next. Red Sox fans shouldn't worry about Chris Sale
Roll with the punches, wear this series on the chin and move on. There’s a Tigers team that can be beaten. But you still can’t accept a sweep at the hands of the Pirates.
So it’ll either be a rallying point for this team or the beginning of a long six months of agony. Only the Sox can decide which direction they’ll lean toward.