The Boston Red Sox continue to get in their own way this season and things have reached a breaking point. With Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, Boston has lost eight of their past 10 games and 14 of their past 21. They have a three-game series with the first-place New York Yankees beginning on Friday, and the Red Sox are starting to run out of time to figure things out.
The urgency appeared to be lost on manager Alex Cora when he said he doesn’t think about his job security in an interview last week. But his seat seems to be getting hotter with his angry message to his team after Tuesday’s loss.
Alex Cora Admits Red Sox Struggles ‘Has to Be on Me”
Cora sounded off after Tuesday’s loss to the Angels, admitting his team hasn’t gotten better during its recent slump. While Cora placed the blame on a variety of things, he also stated that the poor execution falls on him and could cost him his job.
“We keep making the same mistakes,” Cora said via MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “We’re not getting better. At one point, it has to be on me, I guess. I’m the manager. I’ve got to keep pushing them to be better.”
The comments came after the Red Sox had one of their worst performances of the season. Their three errors gave them sole possession of the MLB lead with 53, and they went just 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position, dropping their season average to 19th in baseball at .243.
The miscues included an errant throw by Ceddane Rafaela in the third inning that allowed two runners to advance and eventually score. Kristian Campbell, who went 1-for-3 on Tuesday but is hitting .134/.184/.175 with a home run and four RBI in his last 26 games, had an error in the fifth inning. The backbreaker came in the 10th inning when Zack Kelly couldn’t field a sacrifice bunt by Nolan Schanuel and allowed Zach Neto to advance to third base and eventually score the game-winning run.
“Routine ground balls for double plays, we don’t turn,” Cora said. “We throw to the wrong bases. We miss cut-off guys. PFPs were horrible. There’s a lot of bad right now.”
To top it all off, it was Boston’s 17th one-run loss of the season, with five of their past seven losses coming by that margin. Cora voiced frustration over that stat but also pinned it on his team to change the narrative.
“You get frustrated at one point, it’s, ‘OK, what are we gonna do about it? What’s gonna change?’ Because we keep doing the same thing, same thing,” Cora said. “Are we gonna keep talking about one-run losses? We have what, 17 or 18? It’s the same thing, same thing. Is it effort? Is it preparation, attention to detail? I have no idea. I watched that game and was like, ‘Wow, this is real.’ It’s frustrating.”
The Red Sox may be looking within to end their slump but the reality is they’re running out of levers to pull. While top prospect Roman Anthony continues to rake in the minors, it’s unlikely he can make up for all of Boston’s shortcomings. Rumors of the Red Sox's plans to sell at the trade deadline have also popped up with reliever Aroldis Chapman and outfielder Jarren Duran labeled as potential targets for contenders.
It’s a situation that could get worse in the coming week as they have six of their next nine games against the Yankees after Wednesday’s series finale with the Angels. With time running out and their postseason chances dwindling, Cora offered another simple message.
“Show up tomorrow,” Cora said. “That’s all we can do.”