Friday, April 10

BOSTON -- It is clear that the 2-7 Red Sox have dug themselves a hole right out of the gate. They won’t be the first or last team to do this.

But what will define their season is how swiftly they can bounce back from it. The American League East isn’t the division you want to fall back in.

So this week, manager Alex Cora’s team will pick up their proverbial shovels and try to dig themselves out.

While there are generally things to pinpoint when a team stumbles over a stretch like this, Boston’s issues have been wide ranging.

Here are the quick fixes that are needed:

Win a series

The biggest commonality of the first three series the Sox have played is they’ve lost all of them. This is something that hasn’t happened to Boston since an ill-fated, three-city West Coast trip ended with a 3-8 mark in 2019.

It started in Cincinnati, when the satisfaction of an Opening Day win was washed away by losses the next two games. The series in Houston was the low point so far, as Boston was outplayed across the board while getting swept in three games while getting outscored, 23-7. It seemed momentum had returned with a home opener win against the Padres on Friday. But again, a series-opening victory was washed away by a pair of close losses.

Nothing can boost the morale of a slumping team like winning a series. It won’t be easy as the next opponent is the Brewers, who are off to a 7-2 start after boasting the best record in the Majors last season. A win would give the Sox a happy flight going into Thursday’s off-day, and a road trip to St. Louis and Minnesota.

Starting rotation

For an area that was supposed to be the team’s bread and butter after their much-discussed pivot in the offseason following Alex Bregman’s decision to sign with the Cubs, there has been a big letdown in the rotation.

Ace Garrett Crochet had one dominant start and one mediocre one. Veteran Sonny Gray, the team’s first significant offseason acquisition via a trade with the Cardinals, struggled his first trip to the mound and had a solid outing (six innings, two runs, no walks) in the home opener.

Connelly Early, the team’s No. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline, was stellar in his Cincinnati start but shaky with his command in his next one.

Ranger Suárez, the five-year, $130 million acquisition shortly after Bregman left, has been roughed up (8 1/3 innings, 13 hits, 8.64 ERA) and has appeared disjointed since his less-than-ideal buildup at the World Baseball Classic. Brayan Bello, who was one of the team’s most solid starters in ‘25, has a chance to avenge his rough first outing when he opens the series against the Brewers.

Here were the team’s starting pitching rankings following Sunday’s loss:

ERA: 5.19 (27th)
WHIP: 1.43 (21st)
AVG: .274 (26th)
SLG: .434 (24th)
K/9: 8.31 (20th)
BB/9: 3.12 (T-13th)
K/BB: 2.67 (14th)
IP per start: 4.81 (T-19th)

Reset the bullpen

The leakiness of the starting rotation has led to Cora needing to ask too much of his bullpen. If the Red Sox can build some leads, they can go to their strong setup combo of Justin Slaten and Garrett Whitlock in front of closer Aroldis Chapman more frequently.

Greg Weissert, so impressive as the closer for Team Italy in the WBC, has labored through the early part of the season, giving up home runs in three of his first five appearances.

Here are the team’s current bullpen rankings:

ERA: 4.11 (15th)
WHIP: 1.29 (13th)
AVG: .217 (T-13th)
SLG: .457 (28th)
K/9: 9.26 (17th)
BB/9: 4.37 (15th)
K/BB: 2.12 (19th)

Go on the offensive

There was a lot of second-guessing that the Red Sox didn’t acquire enough firepower in the offseason, and the club pushed back on that narrative in Spring Training. However, the early sample size hasn’t quieted the concerns about the offense.

Wilyer Abreu has been the stalwart (four doubles, three homers, 1.301 OPS) so far but he needs help. Roman Anthony (.698 OPS) has yet to get hot. Once the 21-year-old gets into a groove, that could do a lot to boost the rest of the offense. Willson Contreras was the best hitter the Sox picked up in the offseason, and he’s off to a slow start also (.591 OPS). Nobody’s start has been more difficult than the team’s second offseason lineup acquisition -- third baseman Caleb Durbin. The right-handed hitter is playing solid defense, but has just two hits in his first 28 at-bats. 

On the plus side, reserves Masataka Yoshida and Connor Wong have taken strong at-bats when they’ve played.

Here are the team’s current hitting rankings:

Runs/game: 3.0 (T-26th)
BA: .226 (17th)
OBP: .297 (22nd)
SLG: .372 (16th)
K%: 31.5% (28th)
BB%: 8.1% (24th)

This past weekend’s series between the Red Sox and Padres featured two of the best fireballing closers in the game. At 38 years old, Boston closer Aroldis Chapman is 11 years older than San Diego’s Mason Miller.

Watching Chapman drives Miller to be able to do his thing for the next decade-plus. Chapman ranks 11th on MLB’s all-time saves list with 369.

“You take one look at him and realize this guy is an absolute freak of nature,” Miller said. “That’s not something that just happens by accident. He puts in a lot of hours over the course of the year. For someone to do it as long as he has, that’s a good person to model yourself after.”

When Chapman entered the Majors in 2011, he was one of precious few pitchers throwing 100 mph or more with his heater. In this age of velocity, Mason is perhaps the best of the new age of fireballers.

“I grew up in Pittsburgh, so I remember watching him with Cincinnati and his stuff was otherworldly,” Miller said. “But just the longevity he’s had is really hard to wrap your head around.”

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