Red Sox’s Alex Cora Attributes Season Struggles To ‘Inconsistency’

The Boston Red Sox suffered loss No. 11 against the Toronto Blue Jays in 14 contests this season Tuesday at Fenway Park.

Joining ex-Red Sox and current radio personality Lou Merloni on WEEI’s “Merloni, Fauria & Mego” during NESN’S Jimmy Fund radio telethon, manager Alex Cora spoke on the team’s struggles, now seven games back in the American League wild card race.

“Inconsistency,” Cora said. “We’ve been very inconsistent in a lot of aspects in the game. We were really, really good for a while there. And then we actually went to Toronto, we lost two out of three. We went to Chicago, and that game on Friday, when Rich (Hill) got hurt, the pitching side of it kinda took a hit. We lose Rich, we lose Michael (Wacha) in Toronto, then we lose Nate (Eovaldi).”

Cora added: “It’s three established starters. … And we start pitching with kids, which is no excuse, that’s the nature, that’s who we are. And they’re learning with the course of the season, how to pitch at this level.”

In the month of August, Red Sox pitching has notched a combined 5.30 ERA in 176 2/3 innings pitched — the second highest of any month this season. Boston’s arms have also recorded 161 total strikeouts thus far in the month which is the fewest total of any previous month.

Entering Wednesday’s game, the second of three, against the Blue Jays, the Red Sox send rookie Brayan Bello to the mound, as announced by Cora on Tuesday. In five previous outings in his young big league career, the 23-year-old has gone 0-3 with an 8.47 ERA — allowing 16 earned runs in 17 innings pitched.