Red Sox Notes: Injuries Preventing Boston From Building Chemistry, Momentum

The Boston Red Sox suffered a second consecutive frustrating loss to the Baltimore Orioles, falling 4-2 to the O’s on Saturday night at Camden Yards.

Steven Wright’s struggles on the mound continued, but Boston didn’t help itself with the bats either. The Red Sox only recorded six hits in the contest, two of which came from center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr.

The Sox were without star second baseman Dustin Pedroia for Saturday night’s game. The veteran infielder was forced to leave Friday’s game in the eighth inning after he was spiked by a Manny Machado slide.

Pedroia’s knee injury adds to the list of ailments the team has faced this season. As fans will remember, the Sox were ripped apart by a violent flu bug to start the season, which caused several players to miss games including Mookie Betts, Hanley Ramirez and Robbie Ross Jr.

And just as those players returned to full health, the injury bug bit the Red Sox yet again. Jackie Bradley Jr. was struck with a right knee injury and missed several games before returning to the lineup Friday. Bradley’s return was met with another departure, though, as Brock Holt was put on the 10-day disabled list because of vertigo.

While injuries and ailments are part of the game, the Red Sox have faced an inordinate amount on the young season. As a result, the team hasn’t been able to send out it’s most preferred lineup, which barely has been featured through the first 18 games.

The consistent mixing and matching thus far presumably has had an affect on the team’s chemistry and inability to build momentum. It’s tough to get into a groove when you’re consistently losing players for spurts of time.

Luckily for Boston, Pedroia’s injury isn’t believed to be too serious and a DL stint probably won’t be necessary. The Red Sox surely are hoping they can get everyone back sooner rather than later and start to get the ball rolling.

Here are some other notes from Red Sox-Orioles.

–Bradley provided the only offensive spark for Boston on Saturday night. The center fielder crushed a two-run bomb all the way to Eutaw Street in Baltimore and gave the Sox an early 2-0 lead. He also was the only Red Sox player to record multiple hits.

–Wright’s poor fourth inning thwarted his chance of recording a quality start. The knuckleballer tossed three scoreless innings to start the game before imploding in the fourth. He’d give up four runs in the frame, including back-to-back jacks from Trey Mancini and Jonathan Schoop. The one tough inning has become a theme for Red Sox starters this season.

–Heath Hembree kept Boston in the ballgame and gave it a real chance to win. After Wright’s short outing, the right-hander hurled 3 1/3 scoreless innings in which he only allowed two Orioles to reach base. In 11 1/3 innings of work this season, Hembree has only allowed two runs and struck out 13.

–Though Bradley went yard, Boston’s lack of power continues to be an issue. JBJ’s longball only was Boston’s seventh of the season, which is dead last in Major League Baseball. To put that in perspective, five players already have seven home runs or more this season, and Wright himself has given up seven round-trippers in four starts.

–After playing in the first 17 games for the Red Sox, Andrew Benintendi got the night off Saturday. Mitch Moreland is now the lone Sox player who has yet to have a day off.

Thumbnail photo via Evan Habeeb/USA TODAY Sports Images