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BOSTON \u2014 Perhaps the hitting coaches who got fired last week weren\u2019t the problem.<\/p>\n
Through the first seven games after the Red Sox\u2019s coaching purge \u2014 which included hitting coach Peter Fatse, assistant hitting coach Dillon Lawson and major-league hitting strategy coach Joe Cronin \u2014 Boston\u2019s offense is still floundering.<\/p>\n
In Sunday\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Interim manager Chad Tracy looked for a silver lining.<\/p>\n
\u201cA ton of opportunities and at-bats with (runners) on,\u201d he said. \u201cThe worst case would be you\u2019re not getting the opportunities. We\u2019re getting them. But we\u2019ve 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\u2019t get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s really hard, especially if you haven\u2019t gone through a slump before,\u201d Contreras said, referencing the several young players in the lineup. \u201cThat\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tracy does not plan to make any lineup changes and maintains that something\u2019s got to give.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think where we\u2019re at, especially the last couple days, with the amount of people we\u2019re getting on base, that it\u2019s functioning,\u201d he said. \u201cWe 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\u2019re getting the people on base that need to get on base.\u201d<\/p>\n
It won\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
In yet another blow to the Red Sox\u2019s pitching depth, starter Ranger Suarez exited Sunday\u2019s game after the fourth inning with a right hamstring strain.<\/p>\n
He will stay in Boston for testing and treatment while the team takes a short three-game trip to Detroit. At the moment, he\u2019s not scheduled for an MRI.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the last pitch of the fourth inning, I felt something in my hamstring. That\u2019s why I left the game,\u201d he said through a team interpreter.<\/p>\n
He pitched four scoreless innings Sunday, allowing three hits and a walk, striking out three.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, way different,\u201d he said. \u201cThis one is nothing like that one.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019 hottest left-handed hitters: Kevin McGonigle, Colt Keith and Riley Greene.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we do it, (the Tigers) tend to have some lefties up at the top,\u201d Tracy said. \u201cYou get some more righties in the lineup, possibly. But it also pushes (Bello) down to where he gets that third time through, maybe it\u2019s 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?\u201d<\/p>\n
With a 9.12 ERA through six starts, five of which he\u2019s failed to complete five innings, this could be the final straw for Bello, who does have minor-league options.<\/p>\n
Tracy said he\u2019s discussed the potential of an opener with Bello, who\u2019s willing to try anything to regain his rhythm.<\/p>\n
Tracy managed Bello in his first year at Triple-A Worcester in 2022, shortly before Bello was first called up. He\u2019s watched the pitcher\u2019s 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\u2019t take issue with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody makes the assumption that he\u2019s doing that because the manager is taking him out,\u201d Tracy said. \u201cIt\u2019s not always the case. The guy\u2019s been going through it. He\u2019s trying to get himself right. He\u2019s frustrated, and he wants to pitch well. So it\u2019s probably, did he want to come out of the game? No. But I think there\u2019s also a mix. There\u2019s some frustration with himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for the other two games of the Detroit series, Payton Tolle is scheduled to start on Monday opposite Skubal, while Wednesday\u2019s starter is still to be determined. Sonny Gray is eligible to come off the injury list that day, but \u201cis still checking some boxes,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cSee how he comes out of that (bullpen) physically,\u201d Tracy said, \u201cand then we\u2019ll make our decision on that day when it gets closer.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t gotten that far,\u201d Tracy said when asked about a temporary six-man rotation. \u201cOnce we cross the bridge of, yeah, OK \u2014 if Sonny\u2019s gonna pitch or not \u2014 once we cross that bridge and make sure he\u2019s OK, then I\u2019m sure that that topic will come up and we\u2019ll discuss it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In other pitching news, reliever Justin Slaten, who\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Garrett Crochet began throwing again on Sunday for the first time since he was shut down with shoulder inflammation and fatigue Wednesday. He\u2019ll continue his strengthening program in the coming days.<\/p>\n
In the midst of a frustrating season, emotions have been tested.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s 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\u2019s lack of a tag.<\/p>\n
\nCeddanne Rafaela did not look very happy after Trevor Story didn’t make an attempt to get Altuve at second.<\/p>\n
Good play by Marcelo saved a run right after. pic.twitter.com\/lVYC2JQUlQ<\/a><\/p>\n