The Red Sox lost to the worst team in the major leagues Wednesday night. They are now just 1 1/2 games ahead of both the Yankees and Rays, and two in front of Toronto. Since ending their nine-game win streak, Alex Cora's club has gone 9-10.
Yet just before midnight, Martin Perez wanted to make it absolutely clear that this team was not on the verge of turning into a pumpkin.
"We’re going to be OK," said the Red Sox starting pitcher after his team's 6-5, 10-inning loss to the Tigers. "We just need to come back tomorrow and hopefully Evo can throw a good game and we’re going to win the game. We’re going to be fine man. We just come every day and prepare ourselves to go out there and compete. Like I told you guys before, from last year, too, we’re never going to quite. We’ve got a good team. I know the people say we’re not going to be good this year, and I’m sorry what I’m going to say, but we’re (expletive) good. Tomorrow, we’re just going to come here and do our job and win games.”
Perez has a case.
Yes, it would not seem to be a good idea to lose to a Detroit team that had won just twice since April 14. And the images of left fielder Franchy Cordero's careless error turning into a key run, or rookie pitcher Garrett Whitlock finally becoming mortal by surrendering a 10th-inning homer were tough to shake.
There is undoubtedly plenty to clean up.
Christian Arroyo being forced to leave after being hit on the hand (again) by a pitch, along with Alex Verdugo's absence due to a sore back were also red flags. And, of course, the conundrum at the bottom of the order didn't exactly fix itself, with Bobby Dalbec (0-for-3) now hitting .183, Cordero (0-for-2) sitting at .153 and Hunter Renfroe dipping back down to .208 after going 0-for-5.
But the Red Sox are no different than any of their American League East competitors. They are good, but still flawed.
It wouldn't seem like the Sox will be going anywhere when it comes to the A.L. East race, with the loss to Detroit offering instances of evidence.
Start with Perez.
The lefty's existence represented some of the unknown when it came to the Red Sox' lot in life, with many wondering if relying on the up-and-down Perez -- along with Nick Pivetta and Garrett Richards -- was the wise way to go. But the southpaw has shown enough to offer optimism, this time giving up two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings.
It was certainly good enough.
There was also the Red Sox' continued resilience, made possible once again by one of the best meat-of-the-orders in baseball. J.D. Martinez's two-run homer in the seventh inning allowed for extra innings. And even Xander Bogaerts' line-shot with two outs in the bases loaded in the ninth -- which was expertly snagged by Detroit left field Robbie Grossman -- represented another never-say-die reminder.
The reality is that losses to teams like the Tigers are the ones that come back to haunt you in September. But, in this case, that's what Thursday is for, making sure what was witnessed at Fenway Park late Wednesday was nothing more than an abberration.
