Another ugly night
Kendrick rocked by Brew crew
MILWAUKEE — With only three consistent pitchers in their starting rotation, the Red Sox need their offense to show up on Day 4 and Day 5.
They also need Hanley Ramirez to play more than three innings.
Ramirez made his first start of the season at first base last night, going 0-for-2 at the plate before leaving the game in the fourth inning with shoulder muscle spasms. A lackluster effort at the plate paired with another ugly start from Kyle Kendrick led to a 7-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.
“He spasmed up,” manager John Farrell said. “The right side of his neck, the trap area, felt like it was tightness all the way down through the right arm. We’ll have to re-evaluate him tomorrow.”
After the game, the Red Sox were still unsure how Ramirez hurt himself. He did not speak to reporters.
“The one play — I don’t know if he jarred it when he went down to catch himself or brace himself on the errant throw that he kept in front of him,” Farrell said, mentioning a play when Ramirez fell on his rear but his shoulder never made contact with the ground.
“Those are things that, it’s inconclusive at this point. He took a funny swing in the last at-bat on the strikeout, whether that’s a contributing factor, I don’t know. The spasm speaks for itself and he had to come out.”
With two straight losses, the 1716 Sox now have a worse record than the 18-16 Brewers.
Travis Shaw’s presence was once again felt in the wrong dugout, as the former Sox third baseman went 2-for-4, scoring two runs, stealing third base and collecting his 26th RBI of the season.
The Sox offense continues to pile up the hits, adding 11 more last night, but couldn’t convert, going 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position. The top third of the order got on base seven times, but scored just once without their big bopper in the five-hole.
This wasn’t part of the offseason plan.
From the front office down to the manager’s office, the feeling was that Ramirez, after making 133 starts at first base last year, would be able to move to a parttime role at first while logging most of his at-bats at designated hitter. They needed him at first against lefties for this offense to work, and at first in National League parks.
But Ramirez sat out Tuesday’s 11-7 loss and made a quick exit last night. Due to consistent shoulder irritation, he’s barely been seen at first base — not in games, not in batting practice.
Mitch Moreland, who hasn’t had a game off all season, replaced Ramirez and went 1-for-1 with a walk. Moreland has done more than the Red Sox could’ve hoped for, leading the majors with 15 doubles while hitting .277 through 33 games. But he’s never had more than 515 plate appearances in a single season. He’s currently on pace for 673. He’ll need rest, and the Sox will need to find a first baseman who can help him.
Kendrick wasn’t meant to be a long-term solution in the backend of the rotation, but he was expected to keep games close. He’s 0-for-2 in that regard after allowing six runs again, matching his run total in his first start of the season against the Orioles.
This time he pitched into the fifth inning, recording one out before exiting.
“This game is a lot of luck, too,” Kendrick said. “You’ve got to have a lot of luck in this game, you know? I feel like in spring training things were going my way. Balls were hit at guys. Here, balls are finding holes, guys are hitting in the gap.”
With David Price beginning a rehab assignment on Sunday, and off-days in the schedule providing opportunities for others to rest, the Red Sox wouldn’t need a fifth starter again until May 20, perhaps the last time they’ll need one before Price returns.
It can’t come soon enough. Chris Sale, Rick Porcello and Eduardo Rodriguez have combined for a 2.90 ERA, but all other Sox starters (Drew Pomeranz, Steven Wright, Brian Johnson, Kendrick) have a combined 7.38 ERA.
Back in the starting lineup for the first time in four games, Jackie Bradley Jr. launched the second pitch he saw against Brewers started Chase Anderson over the left-field wall to get the Sox on the board. Mookie Betts drove in Christian Vazquez in the fourth.
The Sox loaded the bases in the eighth but scored only one when Vazquez hit into a double play and Deven Marrero lined out to center.