If the Major League Baseball season ended Tuesday, the Red Sox would be on the outside looking in.
Things are much different than late July when Boston held a 9 1/2 game lead over the New York Yankees in the American League East. Now after the Red Sox’s 2-0 loss in Game 2 of the day-night doubleheader, the two teams are tied in terms of record.
However, the Yankees hold a slim edge in percentage points.
So, yeah, not great for the Red Sox. Especially after the bullpen couldn’t close out Game 1 and the offense left nine men on base in Game 2.
At the end of the day, Red Sox manager Alex Cora knows it comes down to his team just playing better.
“We’ve been talking about it. It’s a fun summer, we play meaningful games,” Cora said after the game on Zoom. “But we have to be better, right? … We gotta play better. It’s the bottom line. And it’s frustrating that we are not playing the way we’re capable of. It’s been going for a while in a sense that the offense is not where we wanna be, but I think pitching-wise we’re in a great place. Nate (Eovaldi) threw a great game, Tanner (Houck) did a good job, we got Chris (Sale) back, Eduardo (Rodriguez) threw the ball well and Nick (Pivetta) is doing an outstanding job. If every night these guys give you a chance to win the ballgame, we’re gonna be OK.”
It certainly is reassuring knowing the starting pitching is beginning to be in a good place, and having Sale back without a doubt boosts your chances to win. But if your offense can’t provide run support, or score with runners in scoring position, winning games will be much harder.
The Red Sox can salvage a game from the series Wednesday when they play the Yankees in the finale at 7:05 p.m. ET.
