What are Red Sox pitchers not named Eduardo Rodriguez supposed to do -- throw shutouts every start?
That's what it has felt like at times this month, including Wednesday's 4-1 loss to the Twins.
Since the start of June, Chris Sale and Steven Wright have lost 1-0 decisions. On Wednesday it was David Price's turn to receive negligible support as the Red Sox lost one of his starts for the first time since May 3, a span of eight appearances.
In some ways, this is simply the result of fielding a top-heavy lineup. When the mashers don't mash, runs tend to die of exposure. The Red Sox recorded just four hits on Wednesday and went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, stranding seven.
They worked Twins starter Lance Lynn for five walks in five innings, but for the second straight night, failed to capitalize. In Tuesday's 6-2 loss that wasted a strong outing from Sale, the Red Sox went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base.
Much has been made of the fact that of the 10 hitters in the American League who have compiled an OPS of greater than .900, three of them start for the Red Sox -- Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, Andrew Benintendi.
Overlooked is the other end of the spectrum, where three of the 13 American League regulars with an OPS below .625 also play for the Red Sox -- Eduardo Nunez, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Christian Vazquez.
That's three spots in the batting order that are basically zeroes, which certainly provides a counterpoint to the exploits of Betts, Martinez, and Benintendi.
Vazquez went 0-for-4 to drop his average to .210. Bradley went 0-for-2 to fall to .180. Nunez (.247) didn't play.
It's worth noting that Bradley, now in his sixth season, has batted under .200 in three of them. It's to the point where we can no longer label him streaky, because his last good month came in June of 2017, when he hit .353.
On Wednesday, Price wasn't tremendous, but he pitched well enough to win, allowing seven hits and three runs over six innings. Two home runs proved his undoing, particularly a two-run shot by Max Kepler in the fourth. Minnesota's other homer came off the bat of Robbie Grossman leading off the bottom of the first.
