Cold nights plaguing offense
ATLAnTA — After the Red sox were shut out for the fourth time this season Wednesday, manager Alex Cora acknowledged Chris sale’s stellar outing for the Braves, but was upfront about his team’s woeful offense.
“I think we made it tough on ourselves, to be honest with you,” cora said after the 5-0 loss, stamping a two-game sweep. “I mean, we put some pressure on him and we didn’t cash in. He was good. We’ve seen that before, but we need to be better.”
Better has been tough to come by of late. The sox went 1-4 on the road trip, scoring just 14 runs — third-worst in the majors in that span — with a .221 batting average. The sox were solidly middle of the pack in runs scored entering Thursday’s play with 164 — 4.43 per game, just above the 4.36 average. But cora hinted that isn’t a true reflection.
“Look at the shutouts and the percentage of games where we haven’t scored more than two runs,” he said. “We have to be better.”
The sox have scored two runs or fewer in 14 of their 37 games, losing 12, but it gets worse. They have scored one run or fewer in an astonishing 11, tied with the Rockies for the second-worst mark in the majors and trailing just the White sox. Each, after colorado won Thursday, was an mLB-worst 9-28.
The Red sox, meanwhile, have one of the best pitching staffs in the majors to date, leading the big leagues in starter (2.33) and overall (2.72) ERA. It has only amounted to being a game better than
.500, 19-18.
“It’s early in the season,” said Kutter Crawford after the sox lost Tuesday despite his holding Atlanta to two runs over six innings. “Obviously, we’ve seen what the offense can do. I think it’s just a matter of time before [they] start clicking on all cylinders.”
With the loss of Triston Casas for an extended period and Trevor story for the year, the sox have had to patch together lineups with Dominic smith, Garrett Cooper, and Romy Gonzalez. Vaughn Grissom beginning the season on the injured list meant there was more needed from Pablo Reyes and Enmanuel Valdez, who both hit below the mendoza line before they were sent to Triple A Worcester. ceddanne Rafaela has had to learn how to hit at the majorleague level, taking a ton of bumps and bruises.
Then there’s Rafael Devers. On paper, Devers is having his usual impressive season — .289/.405/.485 with four homers despite missing 11 games with lingering shoulder soreness and a bone bruise in his knee.
Yet with runners in scoring position, Devers is hitting just .217 with a hefty 38.5 percent strikeout rate. He’s struck out at a 22.4 percent clip on the year overall, above his 20.7 percent career clip before the season.
If there’s one person on the sox who can carry the offense, it’s Devers. so far, he hasn’t.
“That’s part of the game,” said Devers. And is also a big part of why the sox are struggling.
Garcia done for year
A top Red sox prospect is undergoing season-ending surgery.
Johanfran Garcia, a power-hitting 19year-old catcher who was off to a spectacular start with single A salem (.385/.467/ .596 with two homers and seven extra-base hits in 14 games), was carted off the field last week with a right knee injury incurred when he came to a quick stop while running the bases.
An mRI revealed what farm director brian Abraham deemed a “significant” knee injury that will require surgery and prevent garcia from playing again this season.
garcia, signed to an $850,000 bonus out of venezuela in 2022, was ranked the no. 13 prospect in the organization by Baseball America in its most recent rankings, thanks to his display of plus-power at a position where offense is rare.
braves nab short
Atlanta acquired utility infielder Zack short from the Red sox for cash. The 28year-old was designated for assignment Wednesday after just seven at-bats. He’d been acquired from the mets on may 1, after new York designated the utility infielder. short has a .177 average with 13 homers, 55 RBIs, and eight stolen bases in 189 career games, most with Detroit (2021-23).