Kenley Jansen has some things to say
The hits keep coming for the Red Sox, and not in a good way.
If another home loss wasn't bad enough - this time coming in the form of a 10-7, 11-inning loss to the Guardians - the Sox were saddled with some more potentially season-changing injury news.
Already after starting pitcher Garrett Whitlock was forced to exit his outing after four innings due to a sore left oblique muscle, Rafael Devers succumbed in his own ailment. This time it wasn't the bothersome shoulder for the third baseman, but rather an injured left knee that left Devers limping upon leaving the ballpark.
“I felt it on the ground ball when I threw to second base for the [attempted] double play,” Devers told reporters after the loss. “Felt it there and after that, I couldn’t step on my [left] leg. I don't know what to think about it right now. This is totally new. I’ve never had any issues with my legs. So that happened today. I don't know what's going on."
He added, "I’ve never been the kind of player that’s been injured. Obviously, it’s frustrating to deal with another pain. So I just leave everything in God's hands to see what's going to happen, but it’s frustrating for sure."
While Devers hasn't been his dominant self throughout the early-going of this season - hitting .205 with two homers and a .761 OPS - the importance of his presence an already offensively-challenged lineup is obvious. In games Devers has started and finished, the Sox are 7-4, leaving them with a 2-5 mark without him going stem to stern. His sixth-inning, two-run double to give the Red Sox their first lead of the game Tuesday was a good example of the slugger's importance.
According to Red Sox manager Alex Cora, Devers will undergo imaging Wednesday to determine the extent of the injury.
As for Whitlock, the pitcher and the team classified his removal after throwing 54 pitches through four innings as precautionary.
Add of it to the list. Lucas Giolito and Trevor Story are already out for the year. And Nick Pivetta and Tyler O'Neill currently find themselves navigating their own ailments (although both appear to be returning soon). Where it has left the Red Sox is back in last-place (9-9) - sitting at 0-5 when the other team scores first - but now in a precarious spot when it comes to navigating their immediate future.
It might have felt a tad better if Kenley Jansen didn't blow hist first save in the ninth inning, or Josh Winckowski managed to hold the Guardians down in the 11th instead of allowing three runs. But none of that happened.
Now it is simply injury to insult.
“It’s tough, man. It sucks,” Jansen told reporters. “I’m not going to lie to you. It’s annoying. And that’s how it’s going for us lately. A healthy Boston Red Sox is a pretty good team.
“But right now, there’s nothing we can do about it. Hopefully, we can get healthy soon. I like what we have. It’s a young team with talent. They love to play baseball and try to win ballgames. You can see how we came back today, showed fight. Yeah, if everyone is healthy, [it would be] great for us.”