In search of the big hit
Sox offense now troublesome
BALTIMORE — Less than five hours before Dustin Pedroia stepped out of the Red Sox dugout and into the on-deck circle, manager John Farrell explained what it would take to call Pedroia’s number.
RED SOX BEAT Chad Jennings
“You know,” Farrell said, “I would think in an emergency only would we even consider putting him in a game.”
Last night’s emergency? The Red Sox had a runner on base, and they needed someone who might actually get a hit.
It was the 10th inning of a scoreless game, and Pedroia hit into an inningending double play. The aggressive pinch-hit maneuver didn’t work, but it was hard to blame Farrell for pulling that ripcord.
If there’s one thing to be worried about with 11 games to play, it’s the state of this Red Sox offense. Their bullpen looks tremendous again, the back of the rotation is getting some positive signals from Rick Porcello and Eduardo Rodriguez, and they’ve shown impressive resiliency to stay atop the American League East through a string of extra-inning wins.
But last night’s 1-0 victory was an Orioles disaster and a Red Sox pitching triumph. The Sox offense never got a ball out of the infield in the 11th inning yet scored the winning run on an infield hit, two walks and a wild pitch.
They’ll take it. Seriously, this team’s ability to grind through a game like last night has been a defining characteristic and an impressive one, but the Sox desperately need to get their offense together before October arrives.
Hanley Ramirez’ shoulders are sore again. Eduardo Nunez hasn’t played in more than a week because of a sprained knee. Pedroia has his own lingering knee issue, and two nights ago took a foul ball off the face in a fluke that should have rendered him unavailable last night.
But, again, the Red Sox needed a hit.
“You have a .300 hitter on the bench in limited availability, you’ve got to use him in a spot where (there’s an opportunity),” Farrell explained.
Know how many .300 hitters the Red Sox have? Three. One’s a September call-up, and two are hurt right now.
Rafael Devers has four extra-base hits in his past 20 games, Xander Bogaerts has hit .216 since the AllStar break, Brock Holt is hitting .190 for the year, and last night Christian Vazquez, the backup catcher on Opening Day, was the team’s No. 5 hitter, just one night after he made a start at designated hitter.
No knock on Vazquez, who’s had an excellent season, but his prominence in the lineup does speak to the disappointment of others. Especially without Ramirez, who’s underperformed even when healthy, Nunez and Pedroia, this offense is fully capable of a night like last night when it was held hitless until a twoout single in the fifth and never strung together more than one hit in an inning.
Granted, Monday night was impressive. In that comeback win, the Sox had a lot of good at-bats, big hits in big spots, and scored 10 runs. This team has some grit, no doubt. And when Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi are rolling, it can put on a show.
If there’s a reason to believe, it’s because of Monday’s win.
But that 10-run outburst was sandwiched between a three-hit game Sunday and last night’s extra-inning near shutout. Only six Red Sox have homered since Sept. 2, and they’ve played 16 games since.
It’s a lingering issue they can overcome when a losing team like the Orioles falls flat on its face. But against the Astros? Against the Indians?
In the past 20 games, the Sox have twice gotten multiple hits from their designated hitter. Their DH has gone hitless in 12 of those games. Farrell used Ramirez at DH nine times. Chris Young and Pedroia have gotten four starts apiece. He’s even gone outside the box with Mitch Moreland, Vazquez and Sam Travis.
The result? One home run, three doubles and five RBI since Aug. 29, from a role literally charged with hitting and nothing else.
Last night was Travis, a September call-up who’d been excellent against lefties but who’d hit just .136 against righties. He was in there against a right-hander because who was the better option? Tzu-Wei Lin? At least Travis had a base hit.
There’s a lot to like about this team, a gritty group that could be real trouble in the postseason. But this is no time to be in a state of offensive emergency, and last night showed the Sox are ready to break glass in search of an offensive boost.