What has happened to all these top prospects?
Tanner Houck gave the Red Sox another gift Wednesday night.
This time the starting pitching present came in the form of 112-pitch performance in which he allowed one earned run over 5 2/3 innings. It was the most pitches thrown by a Red Sox pitcher since Nick Pivetta also threw 112 two years and three days before. It also helped cement the Sox' ERA at a major league-best 2.74, the club's lowest mark through 43 games since 1920.
The starting pitchers also still sit atop every other team in the majors in combined ERA (2.54). In other words, it's a dream scenario for most every club in baseball ... and certainly this one, which most everyone doubted could function without the likes of Jordan Montgomery.
Yet, once again, the Red Sox showed they have a really hard time having nice things.
Two key errors once again doomed the Red Sox, as did a continued inability to score at an acceptable level. The result was another wasted opportunity, this time coming in the form of a 4-3 loss to the Rays at Fenway Park.
The first defensive miscue came in the fourth inning when first baseman Garrett Cooper's inability to field Richie Palacios' high-hopper allowed for the Rays' first run.
"It’s huge," said Cooper. "We lost by one, and without that we’re still playing right now. It’s a huge error and I take full accountability for not charging. It’s just a play I would love to have back. It’s part of the game where I take responsibility for that."
The second was even more costly, with Rafael Devers unable to collect a throw from catcher Connor Wong on Tampa Bay's sixth-inning double-steal attempt. A clean catch would have ended the inning. Instead, Yandy Diaz followed with a go-ahead, two-run single.
"These guys are aggressive on the basepaths and it's important to keep them honest," said reliever Greg Weissert, who had come on for Houck. "I should have maybe done an inside move to check him and keep him from getting that big a jump."
The narrative with these 22-21 Red Sox continues to not go anywhere:
- They have allowed five runs or fewer in 16 straight games, their longest streak since going 18 consecutive games in 2011 (4/16-5/4).
- They lead the league with 34 unearned runs, and are 2-13 when allowing 1 or more unearned runs.
- They have been held to three runs or fewer in nine of their last 13 games since May 1. Their .234 batting average with runners in scoring position - having gone 0-for-5 Wednesday - sits at .231.
The underlying uneasiness is that the Red Sox might be flat-out wasting this starting pitching supernova.
Despite having this unworldly starting pitching ERA, the starters' collective record is just 13-11. Conversely, the team with the second-best ERA - the Phillies - have seen their starting pitchers go 24-8.
The Red Sox have won riding their starting pitching before. Just look at 2018, when they managed their second-best starter ERA in the past 20 years. That sat at 3.77, but those starters' combined record was a striking 68-38. The next-best? In 2013 the starting pitching managed a 3.84 ERA with their mark sitting at 67-42.
The Sox' saving grace is that they would be absolutely buried in the standings if not for this starting pitching. But ... this should be better than a treading water situation. As Wednesday night displayed, it's not.