Alex Cora Looking For More From Red Sox Offense After Loss To Tigers

The Boston Red Sox solved the first issue in generating consistent offense by putting plenty of traffic on the bases Saturday against the Detroit Tigers.

But getting runs across home plate, the end result that truly matters for any offense, continues to be a problem as of late for the Red Sox.

Boston went an eye-popping 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position, a critical factor in its 6-2 loss to Detroit at Fenway Park. Pablo Reyes, who has earned deserved praise recently, was the biggest culprit, going 0-for-3 in such situations.

“I think offensively, I’m not concerned, but offensively we’re better than this,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “… The line was moving. We put pressure on (Tigers starter Matt Manning) early on. I think it was 30-something pitches right away. Something we were looking for. (Alex Verdugo) hit two rockets today for double plays. (Triston) Casas put good at-bats, hit the ball hard. So, it’s one of those weird kind of games.”

Usually Boston’s offense gets going during hot summer days and nights at Fenway, but the Red Sox attack has scuffled during their 10-game homestand. They have yet to have a breakout performance over that stretch and have scored the third-fewest runs in the American League over the last 15 days.

“I think offensively, we’ve been OK, but we’re not moving the needle,” Cora said. “This homestand it hasn’t been great. Have a good day (Sunday), win the series and move on.”

Justin Turner, who hit a solo home run in his return to the lineup after missing four straight games due to a right heel bruise, is in lockstep with Cora, not concerned about the lack of recent output. But he knows Boston needs to do a better job of capitalizing on its opportunities.

“It’s a good offense,” Justin Turner told reporters, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “But it’s a long season. There’s ups and downs. We just got to find ways when things aren’t clicking on all cylinders, trying to find ways to create opportunities to score runs.”