McAdam: Long, unproductive day at ballpark sees Red Sox take a step backward

The emotional highlight of a day at Fenway that featured 18 innings and nearly six a half hours of baseball for the Red Sox? You could make the argument that it came late in Game 2 when the center field scoreboard showed the Bruins' final score.

Beyond that, there was the first major league homer for Michael Chavis, and the back-to-back debuts of Darwinzon Hernandez and Travis Lakins who combined to throw four innings in Game 2 and limit the Detroit Tigers to a single run. So, good for them.

Otherwise, there wasn't much. In the afternoon, the Sox suffered a drab 7-4 loss to the Tigers, and hours later, they were stifled 4-2. In the two defeats combined, they were a horrific 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position.



In neither game did the starter go far enough to help the Sox. Chris Sale was dominant at times with 10 strikeouts in Game 1 but thanks to an inflated pitch count, he was done after five innings. The Red Sox bullpen then was tagged for five runs in his wake.

In Game 2, Hector Velazquez got them into the fourth before getting the hook, but at least he had the excuse of being a spot starter. The real issue in the night game was the team's complete inability to deliver a hit -- any hit -- when in counted. It's not easy to strand 13 baserunners, but the Sox somehow managed.

Sure, there were the personal highs for two pitchers making their major league debuts, with each acquitting themselves well. And there was the Chavis, clubbing a no-doubter over everything in left in the eighth.

But the focus on the newbies gave the day a feel of a September game, with expanded rosters, individual highlights and not much left for which to play.

Which, of course, isn't the case. Yet, that is.

After their weekend sweep of the streaking Rays in St. Petersburg, the Red Sox had reason to think they had turned the corner. They were, at last, getting (mostly) strong performances from their starting rotation. They were producing quality at-bats against hard-throwing opposing pitchers. And they were finding ways to win close games in the late innings -- all positive signs.

But whatever momentum the Red Sox seized at Tropicana Field seemed to evaporate on a dreary, overcast marathon day at Fenway. One reliever after another failed them in the afternoon. Then, as if striving to spread the blame, the lineup came up empty in the nightcap.

"It's disappointing,'' acknowledged Alex Cora. "Obviously, you don't want to lose two.''

All of this came against a thoroughly mediocre Detroit Tigers bunch ticketed for the lower half of a mediocre A.L. Central, probably pleasantly surprised to be at the .500 mark when the day began, and very likely secretly ecstatic to be two games over at the end of the second game.

A return to Fenway and the start of a 10-game homestand offered the Red Sox a path back to respectability and contention. All they needed to do was continue what they had started at the end of their road trip.

Instead, the Sox took two big steps backward.

Now that the starting rotation has stabilized and begun to pitch to expectations, the Sox can next turn their focus on a bullpen that is distinctly hit-and-miss. For the most part, Matt Barnes, Ryan Brasier and Brandon Workman had been dependable and at times dominant -- and everyone else has been an adventure.

Then there's the lineup which, while featuring some hitters with impressive slash lines, can't seem to collectively get it in gear.

"Right now, we're not clicking offensively,'' said Cora. "It's been going on for the first part (of the season). We know we can be better. Hopefully, we can get it together, keep working at it and it happens.''

For a team with considerable offensive firepower and potential, the Sox have yet to have a laugher 24 games into the season. Not once have they erupted for, say, six or seven runs in the first few innings, putting the pitching staff at ease and suggesting a true breakout is in store for the lineup, top to bottom.

Having fixed their most obvious problem (the rotation), there are others that remain unresolved.

And just when it seems like they've turned a corner, they run smack into another wall.