Sox beg for support
Little aid comes to Porcello
BALTIMORE — Even in a close one like this, it’s hard to say the Red Sox were ever one swing away.
Sure, last night was a onerun game, and the Red Sox were never really out of it, but they still have the fewest home runs in the American League, which means they need to manufacture runs. And it’s hard to manufacture without putting runners into scoring position.
Two runners beyond first base wasn’t nearly enough, so even as the Red Sox stayed within shouting distance, they never truly threatened in a 3-2 loss to the Orioles at Camden Yards. It was the Red Sox second loss in a row.
“We’ve got to come back and begin to get back on track here tomorrow,” manager John Farrell said.
For now, though, it’s so much for second place.
Exactly one week after they climbed out of the middle of the division, the Red Sox fell right back to third place, a half-game behind the Orioles. After winning six in a row, the Red Sox have dropped four of their last six games.
Two of those losses belong to Rick Porcello, who led Major League Baseball in wins a year ago, but this year is tied for the league lead in losses.
Not that Porcello has been awful, but his numbers are decidedly worse than last season, and his run support has often been limited. Such was the case this time when Porcello allowed two first-inning home runs, gave up just one run the rest of the way, and the Red Sox offense couldn’t make up the difference.
“Just got to continuously make opportunities,” Jackie Bradley Jr. said. “We weren’t out of the game. We were right there in it pretty much throughout the whole game. We just weren’t able to get enough runs to edge them out tonight.”
The first Red Sox run came on Pablo Sandoval’s first home run since returning from the disabled list. The second came on a twoout RBI by Bradley, driving in the only runner the Red Sox ever put into scoring position.
But Bradley was caught stealing in the seventh, Mookie Betts struck out to leave a runner stranded at first base in the eighth, and the heart of the order — Andrew Benintendi, Xander Bogaerts and Mitch Moreland — went down in order to finish the ninth.
Benintendi struck out twice as his struggles continued. He’s hit just .116 in his past 20 games, and he’s hitless in his past 17 at-bats.
Hanley Ramirez has also gone cold. He took an 0-for3, has one hit in his past five games, and he’s hit .161 in his past 10 games. He has one homer in the past month.
“There’s a tendency just watching the finish to the swing, he’ll get big at times,” Farrell said. “He continues to work with (hitting coach Chili Davis) in the cage to get on track, to get right. We need him in the middle of the order. But we have to get a little more consistent timing from him right now. And right now it’s what it looks like, it’s a timing issue.”
Bradley trying to steal second base with two outs in the seventh was an attempt to force the issue, taking a risk to get someone else into scoring position. It didn’t work.
“(Mychal) Givens is a guy who can get long in his unloading time,” Farrell said. “So, as we’re scuffling to get some stuff going, fourth pitch of the at-bat, had timed him up, forced him to throw a strike to second base. Unfortunately, the 90 feet didn’t work out. We’re looking to try and create something there.”
Before Sandy Leon singled in the sixth inning, the Red Sox had sent 17 batters to the plate and only one of them had reached. That one was Sandoval, who homered in the third inning.
It was Sandoval’s first home run since April 16, and despite missing a month with a knee injury, he’s still only two away from being tied for the third-most home runs on the team.
Without reliable home run threats, the Red Sox kept things close by leaning on their most consistent on-base threat and their most recent hot hand. Bogaerts doubled and scored on Bradley’s twoout single in the seventh.
It was enough to keep it close, but Orioles starter Alec Asher set the tone with 61⁄ strong innings, and 3 the Red Sox could never get much more going.