Sticking to a season-long pattern, Saturday saw another rough outing from a Red Sox starting pitcher, this time with Rick Porcello getting roughed up by the Tigers to the tune of nine hits and six runs over 5 2/3 innings, but the Boston bats did enough to bail him out.
Porcello's struggles were salvaged by a 17-hit day for the Red Sox lineup, as the bats went to work in a 10-6 win in Detroit.
Mookie Betts went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a walk, Christian Vazquez was 2-for-5 with two RBIs, Andrew Benintendi was a scorching 4-for-6 in his return to the lineup and every other Boston bat reached base with either a hit or a walk.
Following a four-hour rain delay, the Red Sox came out hot and hung five runs on Jordan Zimmermann in the first two innings. Alex Cora has cited the team's need to build on leads and they did so, adding two more in the top of the fourth to give Porcello a 7-0 advantage.
It still didn't seem like enough, as Porcello gave up six runs over his final 2 2/3 innings after hanging zeroes through three, giving up two homers to Jeimer Candelario, one in the fourth and one in the sixth, before an RBI single from Bobby Wilson and an RBI triple from Victor Reyes chased Porcello with two outs in the sixth.
Lucky for him, the Red Sox added another run in each of the final three innings, and a notoriously shaky bullpen kept the Tigers quiet over the last 10 outs without too many nervy moments.
It's not a secret that Boston's problems lie largely in its pitching — though some occasionally poor hitting in big spots hasn't helped — but the gap in production from the rotation and the lineup is significant.
During last season's 108-win campaign, the Red Sox scored a league-leading 876 runs, averaging 5.4 runs per game. This season, Boston has plated 493 — an increase to 5.6 per game — which is third in the majors.
The big difference is on the mound — last season, Red Sox pitchers posted a team ERA of 3.75. In 2019, the team ERA is up to 4.59, nearly a full extra earned run per game. The offense has gone from first to third — while actually improving — and the pitching has gone from seventh (measuring by ERA, an admittedly flawed statistic) to 17th.
President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski addressed the issues on the mound earlier Friday, saying he doesn't "think it's been what we expected or hoped."
Boasting three former Cy Young award winners in Porcello, David Price and Chris Sale, three players earning a combined $67 million in 2019, the Red Sox have invested heavily in their starting rotations and the results simply haven't been there. Price is the only one throwing with any level of consistency, as he's been the team's best pitcher by a wide margin, though Sale has had more than his fair share of bad luck that makes his 3-8 record look far worse than it should be, even if he's been disappointing.
Meanwhile, the lineup keeps on rolling, remaining one of the best offensive units in the league. The production has come from everywhere, whether it's Betts, Vazquez, Benintendi, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr., J.D. Martinez — day after day, the Red Sox bats have stepped up.
The hurlers haven't followed suit, and both the rotation and the bullpen have earned some blame for a team that just can't get hot and stay hot. With four wins in five days, with 40 runs scored in those five games, there's reason for optimism. With 31 runs allowed in five games, the reasons for concern remain.
