BOSTON — The homestand was supposed to offer clarity. Fresh off two victories over the Yankees, the Red Sox rolled into Fenway Park on July 30 with the hopes of proving themselves once and for all.
With the Tigers, Twins and Rangers on the slate, the Red Sox were poised to emerge as either contenders or pretenders by the end of the 10-game stretch at home. But instead, they finished 4-6 and provided no answers.
Being that there's less than two months remaining, the Red Sox are certainly alive in the postseason race. But at 55-57, the team hasn't shed its reputation of mediocrity, despite oozing with All-Star talent.
"It's an uphill battle right now for everybody," Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. "We're trying our butts off as a team to win ballgames. It's not two guys that makes a team. It's 25 guys, so everybody needs to be on board to win games right now. We didn't lose today because of Josh. We didn't lose the other day because of Jon Lester. We're a team."
In order to contend against the elite, the Red Sox have to beat them. After dropping two of the three games against the Rangers, Boston was on the wrong side of its season series against Texas, notching a 2-6 record.
"I don't think it's deflating," skipper Bobby Valentine said. "I think the offense feels good when they're scoring runs and they think their swinging the bats well and they can come back."
It was a homestand that started with such promise, especially after the Red Sox reeled off two victories against the Tigers. In enigmatic form, the team dropped four straight games.
When the pitching was on, the Red Sox offense would suddenly be silent as was the case last Thursday against Twins pitcher Samuel Deduno. When the hitting was on — as was the case in Wednesday's 10-9 loss to Texas — the Red Sox pitching was off.
"We can make our own luck," Will Middlebrooks said. "You can score 11 [runs]. Yeah, you can [win]. I mean the Rangers hit the ball, they swing it so you can't put that on the pitchers. We're capable of that."
The talent is there, but there's no predicting the Red Sox. Maybe this road trip will offer clarity. Or maybe not.
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