With the starting rotation still in flux and facing a crucial doubleheader against the division-leading Yankees, Franklin Morales did something as a starting pitcher that he hadn't done this year.
He pitched poorly — very poorly.
The southpaw flunked his most important test as a member of the Boston rotation on Saturday in Game 1 of a day-night doubleheader with the Yankees, as he wasn't able to escape the fourth inning. Instead, Morales went 3 1/3 innings, giving up six runs on six hits — four of those hits home runs.
The end result was a 6-1 loss for the Red Sox in the opener of the doubleheader, a defeat that drops them back into last place in the AL East with Toronto, 9 ½ games back in the division.
Perhaps even more alarming, however, is that it could start to raise even more questions about an already beleaguered pitching staff. There are question marks up and down the rotation, and until Saturday's stinker, Morales had been one of the only sure things since filling in as a starter.
Morales' start is just the latest in a string of concerning developments for the rotation. Josh Beckett wasn't much better on Friday night. Daisuke Matsuzaka is on the disabled list on the heels of one of the worst starts of his career. Clay Buchholz remains on the DL as well. Felix Doubront has come back to earth some after a strong start to the season. And Jon Lester has yet to go on any sort of sustained ace-like run this year.
Of course, it's a bit of a rush to judgment to say that Morales is suddenly a problem. In his three starts prior to Saturday, he had thrown 18 innings, allowing just four earned runs while striking out 24. However, it's also worth noting that those three starts came against the likes of the Cubs, Braves and Mariners, teams that pale in comparison to the Yankees when it comes to offensive firepower.
While not every team is the Yankees, it's worth noting that the Sox still have series against teams with stellar lineups like the Blue Jays, Yankees, Tigers and Rangers in the next month, so Boston pitching won't be getting many breaks.
While Morales was visibly upset with his performance on Saturday afternoon, he's certainly not saying it's anything more than just one ugly start.
"You know what, it's one game," Morales reasoned after the game. "I try to do the best I can. I [lost] control a little bit today and that's gonna happen."
The left-hander has always had electric stuff. However, one of the main reasons he has spent much of his career working out of the bullpen is a lack of command at times. While he seemed to find that command over the course of the last month, Morales offered a reminder of what can happen when he doesn’t have fastball command. That's obviously the pitch that sets up his impressive secondary stuff.
Saturday, however, he couldn't put his fastball where he wanted to, and against a team like the Yankees, that will come back to haunt you. Aside from Andruw Jones' home run in the first inning, all of the New York home runs came in hitters' counts. Nick Swisher's came on a 1-0 count, Jones' second on a 2-0 count and Jayson Nix went yard off of a 1-0 offering.
"He had a tough time getting in good pitchers' counts," added catcher Kelly Shoppach. "A team like that, you get behind, and they're going to take advantage of your mistakes."
Morales has earned the right to have one bad start with all that he's done both in the bullpen and as a starter this season for the Red Sox. However, there's no denying that he was unable to muster a passing grade in his most important exam of the year.
The Red Sox must hope that this was just a one-time thing, because with their division hopes fading fast and a rotation filled with uncertainty, they're going to need all the help they can get.
