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The early report card on this year’s Boston Red Sox baseball team has been spotty. Off to an 8-win-10-loss start, this edition of Sox baseball is not drawing any raves from their faithful fandom.
The highlight of this early season came in the form of brilliant pitching by Garrett Crochet, who had 11 strikeouts in the team’s 3-1 triumph over the White Sox in Chicago on April 13. But there have been far too many lowlights. After a season-opening 5-2 win over the Rangers in Arlington, Texas, the Sox dropped four in a row — three to the Rangers and one to the Orioles in Baltimore.
Then they rattled off five straight, including a three-game pummeling of the St. Louis Cardinals at Fenway Park, outscoring the Cards 36-20 in three games.
But just when things started to look good, a dose of bad baseball struck the team. Poor fielding, poor pitching, strikeouts galore — 10 plus strikeouts in 13 of the team’s 18 games — and failure to hit with men on base led to the Sox losing three out of four to the visiting Toronto Blue Jays.
Following Crochet’s strong outing, the Sox went into Tampa, Florida, on a positive note, which lasted until the first pitch by Tanner Houck to Rays leadoff hitter Yandy Diaz. Diaz launched his offering for a home run and the beginning of an offensive onslaught for his team. A nine-run explosion in the third inning put the game completely out of reach, as the Rays went on to hammer the Sox, 16-1, the most runs allowed by Red Sox pitching since July 24, 2024, in Colorado.
Since their earlier five-game win streak, the Red Sox have failed to win back-to-back games. Rays starter Shane Baz, who is 3-0 with a 2.37 earned run average against the Sox in three career outings, continued his mastery of the Sox, striking out 11.
This Sox team expects to hit and score runs. To date, it has failed miserably in both categories. Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman, the team’s two highest-paid players, are just not doing their jobs at the plate. Devers is clearly unhappy in his role as the team’s designated hitter. After backing off his preseason comment, “I will not surrender my starting job at third base,” his hitting — the best part of his game — has suffered. And as his strikeout numbers continue to soar, along with his teammates’, the squad’s offensive production continues to drop.
This Red Sox team has compiled the most strikeouts and errors in the majors as of this writing, which is a reason for concern if not panic. Summing up things, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said, “We are not playing good baseball at this time. Poor pitching, hitting, and defense are the major factors contributing to our 8-10 record. I’ll take the blame for my team’s poor play and will continue to try to lead this team out of its current doldrums.” Cora’s honesty is not sitting well with Red Sox fans, who expect better from this team.
There is talent, with special mention to rookie Kristian Campell, a homer in the dismal loss, and hits in every game he has played this season. Wilyer Abreu and Jarren Duren have provided sparks, but not enough to make a difference.
This is just not a good baseball team currently. And if things don’t turn around quickly, Alex Cora’s job will be in jeopardy. The bright light in this scenario is that there is time to turn this team around. You’ve got to believe that this team will eventually hit. But until they clean up their defense, their pitching will continue to give up too many runs for this team to win games.
Strong pitching, good defense and timely hitting have been the age-old formula for winning baseball. This current Red Sox team better quickly find the elements of that formula before this season gets away from them. They trail the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays when it comes to playing competitive, i.e., winning baseball. There is time to get things right. But considering the impatience of Red Sox fans, the time to get things right is right now.
Another baseball note of interest is that New York Yankees slugging star Aaron Judge has been named captain of the United States team for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. It will be the first time that the Yankees’ captain will compete in the global tournament. The United States, especially Major League Baseball, wants to win the event and reestablish itself as the preeminent baseball power in the world.
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