Porcello, Sox go quietly
Continue to slip away in AL race
There were more than 33,000 people at Fenway Park, and it never felt so empty.
The Red Sox made no moves at the trade deadline because they believe in the current group, they said.
Then they went out and watched Rick Porcello allow three home runs as his ERA jumped to 5.74, secondworst in MLB, and played to a mostly quiet crowd as they were hammered by the Rays in an 8-5 loss.
It’s their third straight loss, and second in a row to the Rays. It pushed the Red Sox to three games back in the wild card to the Rays and A’s, and5 ½ games back from the Indians.
It’s not a long way up, but it might feel that way after the Sox failed to address their biggest need in the bullpen before the July 31 trade deadline. There’s no longer waiver trades, so this is the roster they’ll use for the rest of the season.
Porcello has looked nothing like his former Cy Young self all year. The Rays took a 1-0 lead on him in the first inning, then he got shelled in the second as the energy evaporated from Fenway Park.
Kevin Kiermaier hadn’t played in 11 days but returned from the injured list and took Porcello deep on the first pitch he saw, an 89 mph fastball low and inside.
Austin Meadows tomahawked a high 90 mph heater later in the inning for a three-run shot that put the Sox in a 5-0 deficit.
Porcello has allowed 22 home runs this year and his ERA is the second-worst among all pitchers with at least 100 innings. Only Aaron Sanchez, a fellow sinkerballer who was traded by the Blue Jays to the Astros before Wednesday’s deadline, has been worse (6.07 ERA).
After Porcello’s rough start to this one, the NESN cameras caught him walking down the dugout steps and smashing the TVs in the dugout. Both screens appeared to shatter upon contact.
Heath Hembree allowed two runs in the top of the seventh and has a 9.00 ERA in 11 games since returning from injury.
The Red Sox bats didn’t come alive for six quiet innings, but finally woke up in the seventh, when Michael Chavis hit a blast to deep center for his 17th home run of the year. Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez, who hit a solo shot earlier in the game, added RBI singles as the Sox cut it to three.
But Andrew Benintendi and Christian Vazquez failed to come through in some key spots as the two combined to go 0-for-9 with seven men left on base. Benintendi stepped up as the tying run with two on and two out in the ninth but struck out to end the game.
Lefty prospect Brendan McKay will face off against Andrew Cashner in the series finale on Thursday.