BOSTON — Just how good — or bad — are the Red Sox?
Boston’s 6-3 record following its first home series of 2015 suggests the team could do damage this season. As does the Red Sox’s offense, which has had several impressive performances to date.
But the starting rotation has stumbled since Clay Buchholz’s disaster in the Bronx, leaving us to wonder, as many did before the season, whether the club’s pitching will be good enough over 162 games.
The Red Sox had an opportunity Wednesday against the Washington Nationals to sweep their opening home series of a season for the first time since 2001. They were unable to accomplish the feat, as the Nats rolled to a 10-5 win at Fenway Park, but Boston still took two of three from Washington.
Let’s go over some notes before Thursday’s off day.
— The Red Sox have won each of their first three series in a season for the first time since 1952. So as much as we’d like to debate Boston’s contender status, the Sox still have gotten the job done early in 2015.
— Wade Miley’s disastrous Fenway Park debut was the third-shortest start of his career.
Miley lasted just 2 1/3 innings Wednesday while allowing seven runs on five hits and three walks. His only shorter starts occurred on Sept. 3, 2013 (1 2/3 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays), and Sept. 9, 2014 (two innings against the San Francisco Giants).
Miley, who was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks over the offseason, had allowed a total of seven earned runs over 31 innings in his previous five career starts against the Nationals.
— Mike Napoli has hit safely in his last four games after opening the season 0-for-18. His triple in the second inning — his first triple since July 12, 2013 — was his first extra-base hit of the season.
— Dustin Pedroia’s fifth-inning double moved him ahead of Mike Greenwell for sole possession of 14th place on Boston’s all-time extra-base hit list with 444.
— Hanley Ramirez’s rocket home run in the fifth inning marked his first career homer at Fenway Park.
Ramirez has four home runs this season.
— Brock Holt doesn’t just play every position. He plays every position well.
Holt, who played third base Wednesday with Pablo Sandoval out of the lineup, hasn’t committed an error in his last 35 games (33 starts) dating back to Aug. 3 of last season. That’s a stretch of 119 total chances between second base, third base, shortstop, center field and right field.
Holt has committed only one error in his last 62 games (60 starts).
— Xander Bogaerts returned to the starting lineup after right knee soreness sidelined him Tuesday. The shortstop made a couple of nice defensive plays, highlighting his increased comfort in the field.
“I’m kind of pleased about everything, the way the season is going for us as a team,” Bogaerts said. “We’re winning a lot of games, so that’s really all that matters right now.”
Bogaerts said he felt like he hyperextended his knee in Monday’s home opener and felt the soreness upon returning home after the game (and after his adrenaline died down). It doesn’t sound like it’ll be an issue moving forward, though.
— Red Sox manager John Farrell said after the game that the recent stretch of short starts — and in turn the heavy use of his bullpen — won’t force him to designate someone as the long reliever.
“To say that we’re going to make a roster change because of this turn through the rotation, that’s not in the works,” Farrell said.
— Brandon Workman, who visited Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion on his injured right elbow, does not require surgery at this time, according to Farrell.
Workman received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection Wednesday. It’s another way to go about healing the elbow damage, but it’s worth noting that it doesn’t completely close the book on surgery.
Former Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford received a PRP injection in April 2012 before undergoing Tommy John surgery that August.
— The Red Sox paid respect to those affected by the Boston Marathon bombings with a moment of silence at 2:49 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports Images
