To win baseball games, you have to score runs. Right now, that’s something the Red Sox simply can’t do — and it’s why they’re 2-6 with the worst record in the majors.
In Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Padres, Boston was held to two runs or fewer for the fourth time in eight games, falling to 0-4 in those contests. Across the league, teams entered the day just 5-67 when scoring two runs or fewer.
For the Red Sox, it’s the first time since 1998 they’ve scored two runs or fewer in four of their first eight games.
That 1998 team eventually turned things around, finishing the season third in total runs scored behind 40 home runs from Mo Vaughn and 35 from Nomar Garciaparra. This year’s Red Sox, however, face far more uncertainty about where that production will come from.
The offense entered the season with plenty of question marks, and after eight games, there are still few answers.
They’re tied for the fewest runs in baseball (24) and have yet to score more than five in a game. Entering Saturday, their 75 strikeouts were the sixth-most in the league, and their 28.7 percent strikeout rate ranked fifth. They added eight more punchouts on Saturday afternoon.
They also rank near the bottom in walks — drawing just one in the loss — a troubling combination.
“The strikeout rate is up, the walk rate is down, and we’re not hitting the ball out of the ballpark,” Manager Alex Cora said. “Usually, you strike out, you walk, you hit homers. But if you’re not finding a way to get on base via the walk, then you have to slug. Right now we’re not doing that.”
As a team, Boston is hitting .223 with a .366 slugging percentage. They swung and missed 23 times on Saturday, another early red flag.
“I feel we’re taking okay at-bats. We just got to do a little bit better stringing the bats together and then finishing it off,” Trevor Story, who is in a 0-for-13 funk, said. “It just seems like we’re one big hit away, one really good at-bat away from blowing it open and playing with some freedom. Right now, we’ve got to think small and big things will happen.”
For a team that’s lost four games by two runs or fewer, including three by a single run, even a modest offensive boost would go a long way. Instead, the Red Sox continue to come up empty in key spots, going 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position Saturday. On the season, they’re hitting just 9-for-59 (.152) in those situations, the worst mark in the majors.
Of course, there are new faces in the lineup, and younger players are being asked to take on bigger roles — part of a group still searching for its offensive identity, one that was somewhat neglected over the offseason.
“I think that’s part of it,” said Story. “Baseball is an individual game in a lot of ways, but we’ve got to find a way to string these things together as an offense. We have a pretty good pulse on it. Guys are working on what they need to do. We’re confident that things will turn because of the work and the caliber of the players we have.”
The problem is, the Red Sox don’t have the luxury of easing into the season. Not in this division. Call it a slow start or a group still finding its footing if you want, but the hole is already forming. They’re 4.5 games back of the 6-1 New York Yankees, buried at the bottom of the A.L. East.
Yes, there’s a long way to go. But if the Red Sox are going to turn this around, the offense needs to show signs of life… and fast.
