This game has nothing to do with the Red Sox' struggles with lefty pitching. Seattle starter Mike Leake throws with his right hand and he still shut out Alex Cora's club for eight innings on the way to a 7-2 Mariners win. (For a complete recap, click here.)
But while the Sox were trudging through this forgettable, foggy evening, a report came out from Susan Slusser in the San Francisco Chronicle. For Red Sox fans, two paragraphs were probably of more interest than anything that could be written about Saturday night's game.
The ask of Canha should be noted.
He is 29 years old, hits from the right side and will be heading into arbitration for the first time following this season. While Canha's overall numbers won't blow anybody away (.250 batting average, .774 OPS, 9 homers), he can play centerfield (where he's manned in 32 of his 51 games) and, most notably, does, really, really well against left-handed pitching. Yes, this sounds like a fit.
When facing left-handers, Canha is hitting .303 with a .969 OPS with seven home runs.
As we storm toward the non-waiver trade deadline, such a player is most likely becoming a priority for the Red Sox. They are trying to be patient with Jackie Bradley Jr., but after going 0-for-3 with a strikeout in Saturday night's loss the outfielder now sits at .178 with a .563 OPS. Of qualifying hitters, only Baltimore's Chris Davis and Dexter Fowler of St. Louis have lower batting averages. And against lefties Bradley Jr. has just six hits in 51 at-bats.
"I think everybody is feeling for him in the dugout when he hits one and it's like, it's unbelievable. But it's a part of the game," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora of his No. 9 hitter. "He needs to stay with the approach. It's one that it's working as far as the process. They should start falling. They should. He'll be out there tomorrow and he'll put good at-bats and hopefully he can square a few and find some holes."
The Red Sox need to start solving their problems, and Bradley Jr.'s spot in the batting order, along with the team's overall struggles against southpaws, have bubbled to the surface.
If it is finding more of a threat against left-handers that becomes the priority, some other targets may include Kansas City's Whit Merrifield (if Dustin Pedroia's knee issues linger), who is hitting .385 against lefties, Cincinnati outfielder Scott Schebler (.351 vs. lefties), Texas outfielder Delino DeShields (.333) or Miami's Cameron Maybin (.310), who has a history with Cora from last season in Houston.
USA Today Sports Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez went just four innings, giving up a season-high-tying five runs. It snaps a streak of eight straight starts with three or fewer earned runs. It also halted a stretch of six straight starts with a victory, with this serving as the lefty's first loss since May 15 against Oakland. The Red Sox are now 13-2 in Rodriguez's starts.