The issues come and go.
There was the concern over the bottom of the Red Sox' batting order. And the on-base percentage from the leadoff spot was less than ideal. We also had that April stretch where starters weren't supplying more than a few innings.
This, however, seems different.
The Red Sox seem to have their first true roadblock to prolonged success and it is coming in the form of finding consistent routes from the starters to closer Matt Barnes.
The issue surfaced once again in the Red Sox' 3-2 loss to the A's Tuesday night.
With the Sox' starter -- in this case Nathan Eovaldi -- once again doing his job through the first six innings, keeping the game tied at 1-1, Alex Cora brought on what would have seemed to be a logical option, Darwinzon Hernandez.
It didn't work out.
Hernandez couldn't find the plate, resulting in two hits and a walk while getting just one out. And when Adam Ottavino came on and allowed one of the lefty reliever's baserunners to score via a base-hit, the Sox found themselves in a hole they couldn't dig out from.
"We’re searching," Cora said of the Red Sox' set-up men conundrum. "You’ve seen it. We do feel very comfortable with some of the guys back there. We still have to get these kids going. They’re very important. Stuff-wise, we know what they can do, we’ve seen it before. But we need them to be more consistent. When that happens, then structure is going to be a lot easier. For the negative, there was a positive, right? (Hirokazu) Sawawurma was amazing tonight. Hopefully he can keep building from that. As you know, bullpens, they go up and down. Sometimes they’re great for three weeks and then struggle for three days, then we get it back. Hopefully it’s just something that happened today with Darwinzon and he’ll be back again and maybe he’ll get the same guys again and he’ll do what he did in Texas."
As was evident earlier in the season, there are pieces that can serve as part of the solution. Sawamura's two innings Tuesday night offered that reminder. But the trend that has shown itself throughout May is hard to overlook.
Since May 1, the Red Sox relievers have totaled a 1-5 record with a 6.35 ERA, allowing 42 hits and 14 walks in 34 innings. That's just more than 11 hits per nine innings. They have also allowed seven of their 15 inherited runners to score.
It's a far cry from the totals April left us with. That month the Sox' bullpen hits-per-nine-innings was just about six, with an ERA of 3.00, while allowing just 11 of its 33 inherited runners to score.
The problem is finding the lock-down, no-doubt-about-it answers in specific roles for Cora. Right now, the Red Sox simply haven't been afforded that sort of consistency in key seventh and eighth innings.
They certainly might be getting some help in the coming weeks with the return of Ryan Brasier, who is throwing off a mound after dealing with a torn calf muscle. And Worcester has a few interesting options in familiar face Marcus Walden (who has been pitching well thought spring training and early on in the Triple-A season) and newcomer Eduard Bazardo.
And what a perfect world it would be for the Red Sox if Brandon Workman could just return to form. (His Worcester debut didn't go well Tuesday, with the righty giving up a run on a hit and two walks.)
But this certainly feels like a path that will lead to some sort of trade deadline prioritizing.
The good news for Chaim Bloom is that there are certainly more difficult holes to fill. Dave Dombrowski did it in back-to-back years with Brad Ziegler and Addison Reed. And, who knows, maybe the likes of Sawamura and/or Garrett Whitlock continue to emerge, with Hernandez and/or Josh Taylor figuring it out from the left side.
Let the fixing begin.