For the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park hasn't provided a spring board to getting the team over the .500 mark on their recent homestand. Instead, the Red Sox have gone in the opposite direction.
Even against the Baltimore Orioles and Cincinnati Reds, who have a combined 38-61 record, the Red Sox haven't taken advantage of playing at Fenway with Boston dropping four out its last six game at its home ballpark, including a 2-1 setback to the Reds on Tuesday night.
The Red Sox are just one of four teams in the American League with a losing record at home -- Boston is 12-14 on the season at Fenway -- and manager Alex Cora is well aware that those struggles can't continue on if his team wants to contend for a playoff spot.
"Disappointing. We still got one more game, but we got to be better at home," Cora said following the loss to the Reds, per NESN postgame coverage. "For us to make it to where we want to go we have to be better here. That's the bottom line. Teams that make it to October they dominate at home and quote unquote survive on the road. But at home you got to be better and we haven't done a good job."
The Red Sox looked in good shape to use the friendly confines of Fenway to keep ascending after coming back from Chicago with a resounding series win.
But Boston's bats have gone silent over the last two games against two bottom-dwelling teams in the league, and the Red Sox's climb back to .500 is once again getting steeper.
"We don't underestimate anyone. There a major league team," Xander Bogaerts said as seen on NESN postgame coverage. "... Listen, man, you're at home and you want to play good in front of the crowd. Obviously, the way our record was before we went to Chicago and stuff for that, it was getting really good and things were turning around. It's just a bad time to be playing like this. Still got a game here tomorrow. We got to do better."
The Red Sox can end the homestand on a positive note before embarking on a 10-game west coast road trip when they take on the Reds on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage on NESN.
