The Boston Red Sox are hitting the road for their second 10-game road trip of the season, and there’s reason to believe they’ll keep the pressure on the first-place New York Yankees while away from Fenway Park.
The Sox fell to 44-22 with a 5-2 home loss to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, putting them a full game behind the Yanks in the race for first in the American League East.
The Red Sox have a 21-11 road record, good for the second-best mark in the AL behind the defending champion Houston Astros.
Boston’s pitching has been good of late, and on the road the Sox rank third in the league in both ERA (3.22) and batting average against (.213).
The Sox begin the road trip Monday night in Baltimore with a three-game series against the Orioles, who sit at the bottom of the division at 19-44. Then the Red Sox travel to Seattle to take on the Mariners four times before ending with a three-game set with the struggling Minnesota Twins.
Sunday’s defeat was Boston’s third in their last four at Fenway, and given how well the Sox have played away from home this season, a 10-game road trip against beatable opponents might be what this team needs to get back on track.
Here are some other notes from Red Sox-White Sox:
— The Red Sox ended their six-game homestand with a 3-3 record, a .295 batting average, 3.5 runs scored per contest and a 2.95 starters ERA.
— Rick Porcello didn’t pitch poorly Sunday, but it wasn’t an easy outing. He had one 1-2-3 inning (the fourth) and threw 64 pitches through three frames. Porcello got through six innings, giving up five hits and three runs (two earned) with three walks and five strikeouts.
— Both teams struggled to produce clutch hits and batted 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. The Red Sox now are 2-for-37 with RISP over their last four games.
— Rafael Devers extended his hit streak to five games. Boston’s third baseman has collected six hits with one RBI and a stolen base over that span.
— Sunday’s loss was the Red Sox’s first on a getaway day in Boston. They previously were 12-2 overall and 4-0 in Boston on getaway days.
— Andrew Benintendi entered Sunday batting .344 in 14 games as the leadoff hitter while Mookie Betts has been injured and out of the lineup. Boston’s left fielder went 1-for-4 with a run scored and a walk Sunday.
— On Sunday, the Red Sox had their 12th runner thrown out at the plate of the season, tying them for the league lead.
— Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Mookie Betts will travel with the team to Baltimore as the right fielder recovers from a left abdominal strain that has kept him on the disabled list since June 1. Betts took swings in the batting cage before the Sunday’s game.
Here’s what Cora told reporters about Betts before the game.
— Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia still is dealing with some inflammation in his knee, per Cora.
— Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez leads the majors with 21 home runs and 54 RBIs. He’s hit 12 homers in his last 24 games. Martinez is the first Red Sox player with 21 or more home runs through the team’s first 65 games since Manny Ramirez in 2001.
Martinez went 1-for-4 with a walk Sunday.
