It’s been an up-and-down season for the Red Sox through 94 games this season, to say the least.
Boston at times looked like it was suffering from the World Series “hangover,” while other times the Red Sox showed flashes of that magical 2018 team.
Manager Alex Cora has been adamant that his team needs to be better all around. While the offense has been on fire of late, the pitching has struggled, particularly Chris Sale and the bullpen. But during the skipper’s press conference ahead of Boston’s game with the Toronto Blue Jays, he revealed what the Sox have been consistent at this year.
“I’ve been saying all along we’ve been consistent and being inconsistent,” he said. “We see flashes of the team and then it doesn’t happen for a few days. Obviously the fifth starter, it put us in a bad spot as far as the bullpen and the usage. It felt like a few times we feel limited with them. But overall, it’s been a weird season. You look at the numbers and you’re like, ‘oh yeah, great.’
“Offensively, I think we’re first in runs scored and on-base percentage and all this stuff and it’s like there’s more,” Cora added. “It showed up (Monday) offensively … at the same time we gotta be better in the other aspects of the game.”
The Red Sox amassed 13 hits and 10 runs in Monday night’s win against Toronto and Boston will gets its first look at the new fifth starter in Andrew Cashner on Tuesday.
There’s still time for the Red Sox to close the gap with the Tampa Bay Rays for a Wild Card spot. But the Sox must find some consistency as a team in order to avoid falling behind too much.
Check out Cora’s entire pregame press conference below:
Alex Cora details what has surprised him most with the 2019 Red Sox in the @Amica Pregame Press Conference pic.twitter.com/JD0xwGKIAA
— NESN (@NESN) July 16, 2019
