BOSTON — The situation is bad. Very, very bad.
The Red Sox have lost four straight. They’re a season-high eight games under .500 (27-35). They’re a season-high seven games back in the American League East. They haven’t gained ground in the division in 15 days. And now, they’ll need to turn the page on a 13-10 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park in which they blew a seven-run lead and surrendered nine runs in the seventh inning.
What message does the manager have for Red Sox Nation amid these trying times?
“I wouldn’t write this team off,” John Farrell said after Friday’s deflating loss when asked that question. “This is still a team that has got a long track record of individual performance, and we have to put some things together as a team in all phases.
“And this isn’t to single anyone out. You could say it was a strong offensive night tonight. It takes the other two components — the pitching and the defense — to work in combination.”
The Red Sox jumped out to an 8-1 lead in their series opener against the Blue Jays. Boston scored five runs on six hits in the first inning, which was highlighted by back-to-back home runs from Pablo Sandoval and Mookie Betts, and added three more in the third inning on Dustin Pedroia’s ninth homer of the season.
It was all downhill from there.
The Blue Jays chipped away against starter Joe Kelly in the fifth inning, scoring three runs on four hits to cut the Red Sox’s lead to 8-4. Toronto’s offense then exploded against Boston’s bullpen in the seventh inning to take a 13-4 lead.
The Red Sox allowed nine runs on eight hits in the seventh, matching their 2015 single-inning highs. (They also allowed nine runs in the fifth inning of their May 22 game against the Los Angeles Angels, and they also surrendered eight hits in the second inning of their May 25 game against the Minnesota Twins.) All of the damage came before the Red Sox recorded a single out in the inning, marking the first time since May 7, 2009, that a team scored nine runs in an inning before an out was registered.
“We’re well-aware of where we were with an 8-1 lead. This is our job. Games like this do happen. They can happen. Obviously, it has,” Farrell said. “It’s up to us to come here ready to play tomorrow.”
The Red Sox, to their credit, battled. They pushed across a run in the eighth inning and loaded the bases for Mike Napoli, who struck out to end the threat. And they scored again in the ninth before Brett Cecil closed the door. But it’s hard to take solace in the effort, even if the skipper is staying optimistic.
“The life is there. There’s energy. There’s a lot of pulling for one another,” Farrell said. “Late in the game, I think it’s important to try to create that energy from within and we’re doing that.”
Friday’s loss marked the first time since April 21, 2012, that the Red Sox blew a lead of at least seven runs in a loss. That 2012 season obviously ended up being a disaster, and this season is trending in that direction.
The Red Sox couldn’t stop the bleeding Friday night. Will they ever?
Thumbnail photo via Gregory Fisher/USA TODAY Sports Images
