For these Red Sox, a little power goes a long way

And for good reason.

Tuesday night’s 2-1 loss marked the 11th time in the Red Sox’s first 41 games that they were held to one run or fewer. They had gone homer-less in four of their previous five games and entered Wednesday on pace for just 115 home runs, which would be the fewest by any MLB team since 2022.

Beyond ranking last in the American League in home runs (29), Boston also ranked second-to-last in runs scored, ahead of only the Texas Rangers. The Red Sox were hitting just .235 with a .351 slugging percentage.

“We’ve talked about a lot of things,” Tracy said when asked how the team could possibly manufacture more runs. “Mainly the baserunning aspect, which I think we definitely put into play, and changed that in a big way. But outside of that, there’s only so much you can do. At some point, it just becomes like, you get a big hit.”

At least for one night, the Red Sox got the big hits they had been searching for in a 3-1 win over the Phillies.

The first came off the bat of Trevor Story, who launched a 424-foot solo shot over the Green Monster in left-center field. The homer snapped a 21-game drought, spanning 83 at-bats, for Story, who led the club with 25 home runs a season ago.

The second was even bigger.

With two outs in the bottom of the sixth and the game tied 1-1, Ceddanne Rafaela delivered a pinch-hit, go-ahead two-run homer, the first pinch-hit home run of his career.

“We’ve talked a lot [about the home runs] in here, and tonight, we got the long ball and instant runs,” Tracy said. “It’s still three [runs]. We want to get more obviously, but two big swings in big spots, and Rafaela obviously huge right there.”

A little bit of power goes a long way for these Red Sox.

With the win, Boston improved to 5-2 this season when hitting two or more home runs, including a perfect 3-0 mark at home. They have now homered in 11 of their 18 wins and moved to 16-8 when scoring at least three runs.

Of course, by now, we all know the Red Sox were built on pitching and defense, and both were on display again Wednesday night.

It started with Sonny Gray’s six strong innings (78 pitches) in which he allowed one run on two hits and one walk while striking out a season-high six batters. From there, Justin Slaten turned in a scoreless seventh, Garrett Whitlock retired the side in order in the eighth, and Aroldis Chapman closed it out in the ninth for the save, while the defense — which leads the Majors in defensive runs saved by a wide margin – was stellar throughout the night.

“I thought Trevor [Story] played an amazing shortstop. I thought Connor [Wong] played a great game behind the plate, called a great game. And then, obviously, mi hermano [Willson Contreras] at first made some amazing plays,” Gray said. “It’s been great. You feel very confident with the guys that we have behind us. They’re elite. Honestly, I feel like we’re elite at every position on defense, and that’s very comforting.”

Still, as strong as the pitching and defense have been, the Red Sox have learned through their first 42 games that those two things alone won’t consistently win baseball games. The offense has to provide more support, something Gray believes could be on the way.

“I 100% believe in all of the guys in that locker room. We just need to win as many games as we can and keep pushing forward,” Gray said. “Because I do think one of those runs, one of those streaks is coming for us. Tonight was awesome. Great defense, a couple of big homers, but we are a good offensive team, we’re a good team. And I truly believe that. Our time is coming.”

The Red Sox still have a long way to go to find their offensive groove, and it remains to be seen whether this roster can put it together on a consistent basis. But Wednesday night may have at least dusted off the blueprint the Red Sox envisioned when their offseason went south, showing that if the offense can provide even a bit of life – and take some of the pressure off the pitching staff – this team might still have a path to turning things around.