Mike Lowell weighs in on the Rafael Devers drama
There was a lot to feel good about in the Red Sox' 6-5 loss to the Tigers.
They became the first team this season to put up as many as five runs against reigning American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. Alex Cora's team fought back from a three-run deficit with three runs in the seventh inning. And the relief-pitching combination of Justin Wilson, Liam Hendriks and Justin Slaten held the hosts hitless through three crucial innings.
Rafael Devers. Alex Bregman. Carlos Narvaez. Ceddanne Rafaela. They all continued to be more part of the solution than the problem, with each notching multi-hit games.
All well and good.
But at some point all of this good has to lead to something better. Because for the 12th time in 16 occasions, the Red Sox found themselves on the short-end of a one-run game. This time it was a 6-5 loss, punctuated by Justyn Henry-Malloy's ninth-inning pinch-hit single.
So, how does this keep happening?
The good news for the Red Sox is when 14 of your 23 losses are coming by one run, your cherished run-differential is going to be palatable. That's certainly the case, with only Terry Francona's Reds possessing more of a plus-run differential (plus-18) while possessing a losing record. The Sox sit at 22-23 with a plus-15.
For many front offices, this is the sign that better things are to come.
But it also a results business and, all things considered, business isn't great.
While there are a variety of reasons the Red Sox have fallen short in these one-run games, there are hints as to how it can be corrected.
One more reliable late-inning arm would go a long way, with Alex Cora needing to lean on the likes of Justin Wilson, Justin Slaten and Aroldis Chapman over and over and over. (In one-run games, Garrett Whitlock's OPS against is .817.) A resurgent Liam Hendricks would go a long way to help this problem.
A key part of the Red Sox' batting order, the No. 4 spot, has been the worst in baseball. No team has worse production out of the cleanup spot than the Sox, whose fourth hitters total a .524 OPS and .174 batting average.
The strikeout issue continues to be a problem, with the club simply not putting the ball in play enough when it counts the most. The Red Sox own the third-most punch-outs in close and late situations, while also totaling the most strikeouts with two outs and runners in scoring position.
While getting swept by the Tigers, the Red Sox struck out 38 times, tied with Seattle for the most in MLB over the past three days. It's become an all-too-familiar refrain.
With the go-ahead run on base, the Red Sox have fanned 81 times. The next most comes from the Cardinals, who sit at 66 strikeouts in such situations.
There aren't easy solutions other than getting the best out of the players they expect to be the best. But when you have more one-run losses in mid-May than you did the entire previous season (18-13) than it's worth taking a look at.