Former Red Sox hitting coach Tim Hyers talks Rangers success
Even before first pitch Thursday night, things felt off.
To begin with, the Red Sox were choosing to pitch a starter - Matt Dermody - who came with controversy thanks to a series of homophobic tweets, with the likely intention that he would be designated for assignment after the game (which he was).
And then just a few hours before the game it was learned that Alex Cora was benching Alex Verdugo for lack of hustle on a force play at second base the night before.
"Obviously, where we’re at, and I’m not using him as an example because we have to be better in a lot of aspects, but yesterday, I felt like, you know what, that's not acceptable," Cora told reporters. "And he knows it, so I took him out of the game and then today he’s not starting."
As awkward as all of that was, the dark clouds hovering over this team only got darker as the Red Sox boarded their plane for New York following a 10-3 loss to the Guardians.
Not only had the Sox been walloped by Cleveland - dropping Cora's club to one game under .500 and five games out of a Wild Card spot - but everything about how this team was devolving felt off.
It seems like a lifetime ago that the Red Sox were sitting seven games over .500 (21-14) after winning eight straight. Since then - a period that now stretches more than a month - they are one of the worst teams in baseball, going 10-18 while playing a continuously sloppy brand of baseball.
Along with appearance by Dermody, the game itself would be remembered for the awkward return to the Progressive Field mound by what had been the Red Sox' Opening Day starter, Corey Kluber. The downward spiral for Kluber only gained momentum, at one point manifesting itself in eight straight hits by the Guardians.
Kluber would be left to save the bullpen heading into the three games at Yankee Stadium, finishing his 3 1/3-inning outing by allowing seven runs on 11 hits.
“It’s very tough,” Cora told reporters. “Not only him, but with anybody that we have out there. We were talking about it, they hit the ball hard, they hit it off the end, check swings. It was like he couldn’t buy a break. But he gave us enough. We were able to kind of reset our bullpen and let’s be ready for tomorrow.”
And making matters worse, the one non-negotiable piece of the equation when it comes to playing baseball in Boston - accountability - was uncomfortably thin thanks to the postgame unavailability of both Verdugo and Kluber.
The good news for the Red Sox is that the Yankees represent an opportunity to change the narrative, with New York looking dramatically less daunting without the injured Aaron Judge.
But even that landscape feels a bit daunting for the Sox considering their task will be to try and turnaround their offensive woes against Gerrit Cole (2.82 ERA) on Friday, and Domingo German (3.69 ERA) the day after.
“It’s been tough,” Triston Casas told reporters after providing one of the few highlights via a seventh-inning home run. “We try to preach a winning culture. We try to stay positive all the time. But when things aren’t going our way, it’s definitely challenging. We keep a light group here, though. We always try to stay positive.”
As we sit here, more than ever this season, that's easier said than done.