BOSTON — A 10-game homestand following the Red Sox’s 7-3 West Coast road trip was supposed to offer a chance for the team to build up on their early season success.
Instead, the Red Sox went 3-7 in their longest stretch of home games this year and now sit at 10-10, the definition of mediocre.
A 5-4 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday, one night after a brilliant performance from Tanner Houck, brought the Red Sox back to the reality that this is going to be a long season if the errors and injuries continue.
Rafael Devers, who was out on Thursday after getting an MRI that revealed a bone bruise in his right knee, tried to strike a more optimistic tone despite the early frustrations.
“(It’s) 20 games into the season,” he said through translator Carlos Villoria-Benetiz. “Every team goes through this, obviously. The press makes it bigger than what it is. At the same time, we’re not even 50 or 100 games into the season and have been through a lot of chunk of the season. We still have time to play and we have a lot of games in front of us.”
As the Red Sox head on the road for three games in Pittsburgh followed by three in Cleveland, here a few takeaways from a tough homestand:
1. The injuries continue to run rampant
On Thursday, the Red Sox placed Tyler O’Neill on the 7-day concussion injury list, retroactive to Tuesday following his collision with Rafael Devers on Monday.
O’Neill, sporting a black left eye, stitches above his eyebrow and another cut above his right eye, spoke Thursday for the first time since the collision.
“First couple of days after the collision were a little tough, but I’m feeling better now,” he said. “I know I’m progressing in the right direction. Doctors agree with it.”
“I’ve had a lot of dizziness, so I’m fighting through that a little bit. A lot of fogginess,” he added. “First couple of days, slow to think. It took me a little bit to recover from that. I’m feeling better now, I feel like I’m on the right path, sort of through the last stages of lightheadedness. And I’m just a little more fatigued than I’m used to. But I’m thinking better now. And I feel like I’m on the right track.”
O’Neill is traveling with the team to Pittsburgh to stay on top of his progression and is hopeful to return by Tuesday when he’s eligible but will have to see how he continues to respond to treatment. He hoped to be able to stand in on some bullpens in the coming days to make sure the brain fog is gone and that he can track pitches with clarity.
O’Neill said he’s been on an exercise bike the last few days working at a moderate heart rate so doctors can see how he’s recovering. The recovery was steady but not as quick as they had hoped, leading to the delayed IL stint.
“I’ve never had a concussion or anything like this before,” he said. “It’s all new to me. I’m learning as I go and I’m just trying to manage the symptoms as best I can.”
In his place, the Red Sox recalled Rob Refsnyder, who’d been rehabbing from a broken toe with Triple-A Worcester. Refsnyder said the toe is not healed fully, with a break typically taking about six weeks to mend, but that he can manage the pain. He appeared in four rehab games, including two games in right field, one at first base and one as designated hitter, going 4-for-12. If the Red Sox weren’t so banged up and in desperate need of players, Refsndyer likely would have seen more time in Worcester. Meanwhile, Cora said Vaughn Grissom, who missed all of spring training, will remain with Worcester and play second base the next two days. Grissom is likely to need most of the 20 days he’s allotted on his rehab clock, which began April 12, meaning he should be able to return by May 2, if he has no setbacks.
Devers sat out on Thursday for the seventh time in 20 games. While he said his shoulder is feeling better, he’s now dealing with knee pain. Devers said he first felt it on a play at third base on Tuesday.
“I couldn’t put total weight on my leg and that always affects my swing,” he said.
While Devers hasn’t been placed on the IL, he’s not sure when he’ll be ready to play or if it’s something he’ll have to manage going forward.
“I don’t know,” he said. “When I feel good and when I feel 100 percent to play, that’s when I’m going to play. I’m not going to rush myself because I don’t want to go back to this same situation. So I’m going to take my time to get ready to play.”
Beyond that, the injury list remains lengthy. Garrett Whitlock headed to the IL this week with an oblique strain and is receiving treatment and Nick Pivetta is working his way back from a flexor strain. Pivetta has been feeling good and may have avoided a more serious elbow injury. He began throwing at 120 feet on Thursday and was scheduled to do so again on Friday, with a bullpen set for Saturday. Following the bullpen, the Red Sox will determine if a simulated game or a rehab start is necessary before he returns, but if all goes well he could be back by the end of next week.
Infielder Romy Gonzalez has been sidelined with a wrist sprain and an MRI came back clean, but he continues to manage pain while swinging a bat. Reliever Isaiah Campbell, dealing with a shoulder impingement, began strengthening work this week.
The Red Sox 40-man roster depth is paper thin at the moment with nine players on the IL plus prospects in Wikelman Gonzalez and Luis Perales taking up spots. Pitcher Naoyuki Uwasawa, catcher Tyler Heineman and reliever Zack Kelly are the only other options to be recalled without making a move to open a spot. The Red Sox did make one move Thursday post-game adding lefty Cam Booser to the roster, according to MLB.com, and sending down Joe Jaques who had been recalled on Thursday to take O’Neill’s spot. In order to make room on the roster, the Red Sox put Story on the 60-day IL. Booser has allowed two runs on three hits while striking out out 15 in 6 2/3 innings in Worcester.
2. Pitching continues to be strong
Houck’s brilliant performance on Wednesday night not only marked the best of his career, but the best the Red Sox have seen in years. And while the rest of the rotation hasn’t been quite as dominant as that one masterful performance, Houck’s start was emblematic of a rotation that has taken a big step forward this season. The Red Sox are currently navigating without Pivetta and Whitlock, but continue to be among the top rotations in baseball with a 1.82 ERA through 20 starts while averaging five innings per start. Excluding Brennan Bernardino’s two scoreless innings as Thursday’s opener, the average is closer to 5 1/3 innings per start. The team’s collective 2.70 ERA and 189 strikeouts lead the majors.
Bernardino was the opener on Thursday. (Eric Canha / USA Today)
The Red Sox will need a starter for Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh and Cora said they’re considering internal and external options. Chase Anderson is stretched out and could make the start or the Red Sox could call up Uwasawa from Worcester if they feel he’s ready.
3. The offense remains inconsistent
For as strong as the pitching has been, the offense has been just as inconsistent.
The injuries and lack of depth on the roster left the Red Sox fielding a lineup on Thursday where seven of nine players were making under $1 million this season.
Cora sat the struggling Masataka Yoshida for a second straight day. Even with a seemingly light lineup, the team put four runs on the board and challenged the Guardians, but defense, once again, cost them.
The Red Sox’s .676 OPS ranks 22nd in baseball, while they led the majors with 202 strikeouts as of the end of their game Thursday.
4. The defense remains atrocious
Two more errors on Thursday continued a brutal trend for the Red Sox. Even with a mediocre offense that’s had successful spurts, the Red Sox would undoubtedly have a better record at this point thanks to the superb pitching if not for all the errors.
There were three more unearned runs Thursday, pushing the Red Sox total to 25 unearned runs on the year and 20 errors, again, the most in baseball.
“It’s hard,” Cora said. “People might say ‘He’s full of s—’, but we need to play better defense. That’s the bottom line. Two routine plays we don’t make and then we don’t turn a double play and we lose by one. So we’ve just got to keep going. Show up early tomorrow, early work, keep pushing them, they’re good defenders, they are. We’re not making plays right now.”
Playing Ceddanne Rafaela at shortstop more often would seemingly help, but the Red Sox are also handcuffed with injuries with Devers sidelined and O’Neill out at least through Tuesday. Refsnyder’s ability to play the corner outfield spots helps in that regard, but Cora will have to manage his playing time too as he builds back up after just four rehab games. Still Jarren Duran in center, Refsnyder in left and Wilyer Abreu in right would allow Rafaela to play short with Pablo Reyes or Bobby Dalbec at third while Devers is out.
(Top photo of Casas: Eric Canha / USA Today)
