BOSTON — Perhaps the hitting coaches who got fired last week weren’t the problem.
Through the first seven games after the Red Sox’s coaching purge — which included hitting coach Peter Fatse, assistant hitting coach Dillon Lawson and major-league hitting strategy coach Joe Cronin — Boston’s offense is still floundering.
In Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the Houston Astros in 10 innings, the Red Sox left 13 men on base and went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Houston’s pitchers have combined for a league-worst 5.75 ERA. In the three-game series at Fenway Park, the Red Sox scraped out just seven runs. They went 3-for-28 with runners in scoring position, stranding 29 baserunners.
Interim manager Chad Tracy looked for a silver lining.
“A ton of opportunities and at-bats with (runners) on,” he said. “The worst case would be you’re not getting the opportunities. We’re getting them. But we’ve got to execute them. And that was a winnable game, obviously. We had a lot of chances for two-out hits, one-out hits, people on, and just couldn’t get it done.”
The Red Sox had runners on base in every inning and left the bases loaded in the 10th when Ceddanne Rafaela grounded into a double play.
There have been some glimpses of good signs in an otherwise miserable start to the year. Marcelo Mayer hit .407 during a nine-game hitting streak that was snapped Saturday and bounced back with another hit Sunday. Jarren Duran clubbed two home runs in three games. Roman Anthony has 13 walks in his past 14 games. But the unit as a whole is too disjointed, something veteran Willson Contreras acknowledged.
“I think it’s really hard, especially if you haven’t gone through a slump before,” Contreras said, referencing the several young players in the lineup. “That’s why I said our preparation or mindset has to be there. You have to find a way to put yourself or your mindset in a good spot and just let it be. Just try to stop seeking results and try to have a good at-bat.”
Tracy does not plan to make any lineup changes and maintains that something’s got to give.
“I think where we’re at, especially the last couple days, with the amount of people we’re getting on base, that it’s functioning,” he said. “We have a lot of runners. Again, like we talked about the other day, you can switch this or that, but we keep getting second and third, bases loaded, first and second. The traffic is there. Just need to breathe as a unit and get a couple big hits there, and hopefully that turns. But we’re getting the people on base that need to get on base.”
It won’t get easier in the upcoming days. The Red Sox head to Detroit on Monday to face reigning American League Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal.
Suarez optimistic about hamstring
In yet another blow to the Red Sox’s pitching depth, starter Ranger Suarez exited Sunday’s game after the fourth inning with a right hamstring strain.
He will stay in Boston for testing and treatment while the team takes a short three-game trip to Detroit. At the moment, he’s not scheduled for an MRI.
Suarez said he first felt hamstring tightness in the second inning, but kept pitching without a problem before it resurfaced after the fourth as he walked slowly back to the dugout.
“On the last pitch of the fourth inning, I felt something in my hamstring. That’s why I left the game,” he said through a team interpreter.
He pitched four scoreless innings Sunday, allowing three hits and a walk, striking out three.
Suarez said he dealt with similar hamstring tightness last April and did not miss a start. He was adamant that this current injury is much less severe than the hamstring injury that forced him to miss three weeks in 2023.
“Yeah, way different,” he said. “This one is nothing like that one.”
Bello’s rotation spot in question
Still, the Red Sox have some other pitching decisions to make in the coming days. Tracy revealed the team is considering whether Bello will make a normal start on Tuesday in Detroit or if they will use an opener ahead of him.
Tracy said using an opener would be contingent upon how much they needed the bullpen on Sunday and Monday. He said Bello would get a bulk of the innings regardless. Given the Red Sox needed six innings from the bullpen Sunday, they will reassess whether an opener still makes sense, or if they will call up a fresh arm for the bullpen.
Part of the idea in using the opener is that the Red Sox could use a lefty reliever in hopes of avoiding some of the Tigers’ hottest left-handed hitters: Kevin McGonigle, Colt Keith and Riley Greene.
“If we do it, (the Tigers) tend to have some lefties up at the top,” Tracy said. “You get some more righties in the lineup, possibly. But it also pushes (Bello) down to where he gets that third time through, maybe it’s in a section of the lineup where you push him through a little bit. The big thing is, if we do that, is it (to) the benefit of the Red Sox and can we help get Bello on track?”
With a 9.12 ERA through six starts, five of which he’s failed to complete five innings, this could be the final straw for Bello, who does have minor-league options.
Tracy said he’s discussed the potential of an opener with Bello, who’s willing to try anything to regain his rhythm.
Tracy managed Bello in his first year at Triple-A Worcester in 2022, shortly before Bello was first called up. He’s watched the pitcher’s evolution from afar, but also knows him personally. Bello did not hide his displeasure during his Wednesday start when Tracy came to take him out after 3 2/3 innings. Tracy didn’t take issue with it.
“Everybody makes the assumption that he’s doing that because the manager is taking him out,” Tracy said. “It’s not always the case. The guy’s been going through it. He’s trying to get himself right. He’s frustrated, and he wants to pitch well. So it’s probably, did he want to come out of the game? No. But I think there’s also a mix. There’s some frustration with himself.”
As for the other two games of the Detroit series, Payton Tolle is scheduled to start on Monday opposite Skubal, while Wednesday’s starter is still to be determined. Sonny Gray is eligible to come off the injury list that day, but “is still checking some boxes,” Tracy said. Gray threw a three-inning live batting practice on Friday and came out of it feeling good, but he has another bullpen session scheduled for Monday.
“See how he comes out of that (bullpen) physically,” Tracy said, “and then we’ll make our decision on that day when it gets closer.”
Left-hander Jake Bennett, coming off a strong start in which he allowed one run over five innings on Friday, is still with the club. If Gray is activated on Wednesday and Suarez avoids the IL, would they keep all six starters? With injuries cropping up among the group and a trio of young lefties in Tolle, Bennett and Connelly Early all used to pitching every six days in Triple A, it could benefit the group.
“We haven’t gotten that far,” Tracy said when asked about a temporary six-man rotation. “Once we cross the bridge of, yeah, OK — if Sonny’s gonna pitch or not — once we cross that bridge and make sure he’s OK, then I’m sure that that topic will come up and we’ll discuss it.”
In other pitching news, reliever Justin Slaten, who’s been on the IL with a right oblique strain, made his first rehab appearance Sunday for Double-A Portland. He pitched one scoreless inning, allowing one hit and striking out two, and could be activated later this week.
Garrett Crochet began throwing again on Sunday for the first time since he was shut down with shoulder inflammation and fatigue Wednesday. He’ll continue his strengthening program in the coming days.
Story, Rafaela repair things after on-field tiff
In the midst of a frustrating season, emotions have been tested.
With the Astros leading 1-0 and a runner on first base in the fourth inning on Saturday, Jose Altuve hit a fly ball to center over Rafaela’s head. He picked up the ball on a bounce off the wall and fired into second as Altuve tried to advance. But when Trevor Story caught the throw, he failed to make a tag as Altuve slid in safely for a double. Rafaela seemed to throw his hands out in frustration at Story’s lack of a tag.
Ceddanne Rafaela did not look very happy after Trevor Story didn’t make an attempt to get Altuve at second.
Good play by Marcelo saved a run right after. pic.twitter.com/lVYC2JQUlQ
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) May 2, 2026
After the game, Story was asked if he spoke with Rafaela.
“We’ll keep it between us, and that’s what I think good teams do, we’ll handle it,” Story said.
“There’s a human aspect to it and an emotional side to this game with everything that’s going on,” Story added. “And yeah, that’s part of being a professional, you learn ways to handle those things, and I think it’s as simple as that. I think you’re not going to catch me talking bad about any of my teammates.”
Story had a day off Sunday to manage his workload with a tight adductor that’s cropped up a few times early in the season, but Tracy also said he spoke with Story about the play.
“Trev and Rafa are handling that between themselves,” Tracy said. “They’ll be fine. There are things that happen in the course of a 162-game season that, things like that happen, emotions, right? We’re trying to get our team on track. Water under the bridge. Those two will take care of it.”
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