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Red Sox’ veteran leader: ‘This was unacceptable’
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- Red Sox’ veteran leader: ‘This was unacceptable’
HOUSTON — The Red Sox are off to their worst start through six games since 2019.
They finished their opening six-game road trip with a 1-5 record, getting outscored 32-17.
The Red Sox lost 6-4 to the Astros on Wednesday at Daikin Park, their fifth straight loss after winning Opening Day in Cincinnati .
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To make matters worse, ace Garrett Crochet couldn’t stop the slide, taking the loss in the series finale.
Boston struck out 38 times and were outscored 23-7 in this three-game sweep.
“Just unacceptable, really, on both sides of the ball,” Red Sox veteran leader Trevor Story said. “Defense, too. So overall, not good. And looking to reset here on the off day and get back at home at Fenway, where we dominate and play in front of our home crowd. So I’m excited about that.”
The Red Sox have Thursday off before opening a six-game homestand against the Padres on Friday at 2:10 p.m.
Manager Alex Cora’s team has struggled in basically every area of the game.
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Entering the season, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow called the Red Sox’ identity and strength their pitching and ability to prevent runs. But the starting rotation is 1-3 with a 5.22 ERA. The defense has made six errors, including two on Wednesday.
Boston’s bullpen has allowed 11 earned runs in 22 innings (4.50 ERA).
Meanwhile, the offense has averaged 2.8 runs per game. Boston has scored three or fewer runs in four of its six games.
“Obviously not good,” Story said. “Today was better. A lot of better at-bats. Had some traffic out there and had some movement, so a step in the right direction. But we’ve got to find a way to be more consistent. We have a lot of good hitters, but we’re not moving the line the way we should, and that’s how our offense is built.”
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Story called himself out. He’s 4 for 29 (.138) with zero walks and 13 strikeouts.
“Personally, I’ve got to be a little more disciplined, finding and hunting the one I want,” he said. “And not missing it when I get it.”
Caleb Durbin , who the Red Sox acquired in a trade with the Brewers on Feb. 9, is 0 for 18 with five strikeouts. Roman Anthony is batting .227 (5 for 22), although he hit a pinch-hit home run in the ninth inning Wednesday.
Every hitter is batting below .228 except Wilyer Abreu , Carlos Narváez and Connor Wong .
As a team, the Red Sox are hitting .208 with a .295 on-base percentage, .347 slugging percentage and .642 OPS.
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“We’re getting beat in the zone,” Cora said. “We’ve been chasing too, but I think we’ve been getting beat in the zone. So that’s something we have to address right away. We’ve got to be ready for Friday.”
There’s still another 156 games. Boston won 89 games last year after beginning 1-4. So there should be a balance — players should feel disappointment without overreacting.
“I try to look at things in a positive sense,” Story said. “Maybe this is good this is happening now and a little gut check and we figure it out — we make the adjustments. But we know we have a great team. We know we can be good. So it’s just about us, the players, to make the adjustments that we need to make. And we have time on our side, but there’s urgency, for sure. This was unacceptable.”
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