The Boston Red Sox had the perfect opportunity to bolster their record with a four-game series against the lowly Baltimore Orioles over the weekend. It certainly looked like the Red Sox would capitalize on the chance to beat up their AL East rival, opening the series with back-to-back wins while outscoring the O's 25-10 on aggregate.
Unfortunately, that's where Boston's success ended.
The Red Sox followed those wins up with back-to-back losses to the Orioles, losing 2-1 in Game 2 of the doubleheader before falling 5-1 on Sunday afternoon. Boston's offense completely fell off a cliff as the series continued, proven by the club scoring only three runs in the final 22 innings.
An offensive performance like that is never a good thing, especially against one of the MLB's worst pitching staffs. Needless to say, things have to change in Boston.
Red Sox Have Big Changes to Make After Collapsing vs. Orioles
Following Sunday's poor performance, Red Sox manager Alex Cora made it clear the Red Sox's current play style isn't good enough to consistently win games.
"We were inconsistent this homestand, pitching-wise," Cora said after Boston went .500 in the last 10 home games, per NESN's Greg Dudek. "It seems like when he hit, we didn’t pitch, and then when we pitched, we didn’t hit. So, I think 5-5 is what we deserve."
Boston's record has gone back and forth since the first pitch of Opening Day, staying above .500 only for a game or two before consecutive losses bring them back down to earth. In fact, hovering around the .500 mark is something Red Sox fans are all too familiar with over the last few years, as the club has finished with either 78 or 81 wins in each of the last three seasons.
It doesn't help that the Red Sox's campaign has been marred by off-field drama. Between injuries to key players like Alex Bregman and Triston Casas, as well as the drama surrounding Rafael Devers, Red Sox fans haven't seen many extended periods of positivity, to say the least.
The Red Sox get their heads on right, or else ending their playoff drought will be tougher. With a 27-28 record as of Monday morning, Boston sits 2.5 games back of the Kansas City Royals for the American League's final wild-card spot, and that's without mentioning how the Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays are ahead of them in the race.
The Red Sox's next nine games are against sub-.500 teams, presenting another opportunity to improve their record. Hopefully, Cora's club capitalizes on this opportunity. Otherwise, the Boston skipper could be looking for work sooner rather than later.