Red Sox’s Alex Cora Offers Blunt Assessment Of Boston’s Defense

The Boston Red Sox haven’t been their sharpest, losing the sixth of their last eight games Tuesday night to open up a seven-game homestand against the Cincinnati Reds at Fenway Park.

Two errors proved costly in Boston’s 9-8 loss and the Red Sox rank seventh in errors (34) among all teams in Major League Baseball. That ongoing trend, coupled with a recent cold stretch at the plate, has placed Boston in dead last in the American League East (28-26) before Wednesday night’s matchup with the Reds.

“We’re not a good defensive team right now,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters, according to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe. “… The numbers don’t lie.”

Boston was put in a difficult start from the very get-go this season.

First, the Red Sox were dealt a blow with Trevor Story, losing their All-Star shortstop to the 60-day injured list after undergoing right elbow surgery this past offseason. Cora did assure Story’s role as Boston’s go-to shortstop upon his return, but also needed to slide Kiké Hernández into the spot after having spent the bulk of his Red Sox tenure patrolling the outfield.

Hernández, who committed two errors on Tuesday night, raised his season total of defensive miscues to 11.

The Red Sox have also long awaited the return of Adam Duvall, who was brought in as the envisioned starting centerfielder after signing a one-year deal with Boston back in January. An injury that’s obviously hampered the offensive production, Duvall broke out of the gate as one of the league’s hottest hitters, batting .455 in eight games played.

Boston and Cincinnati face off at Fenway Park at 7:10 p.m. ET, which you can catch live on NESN.