All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' loss to the Tigers, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES:
Offense sputters again: True, the Red Sox didn't get a great outing from starter Garrett Richards, who failed to record an out in the fifth inning before being lifted. Richards has an ERA over 7.00 in his last nine starts and he didn't do much to help his team Tuesday. But the real culprit was the offense Tuesday, which produced just two runs -- all in the first two innings. The Sox had just one extra-base hit and was at times overwhelmed by the parade of hard throwers coming out of the Detroit bullpen. Once more, the Sox left too many baserunners stranded (nine) and couldn't produce the big hit when they needed it (1-for-5 with RISP). The trend now is unmistakable -- over the last seven games, the Red Sox have scored just 18 runs, for an average of 2.57 runs in that span. Since the All-Star break, the Red Sox are now averaging fewer than four runs and in the last two games, they've earned themselves two losses despite allowing just seven runs in those contests. Alex Cora also noted that the Sox fanned 10 times Tuesday night, continuing their recent habit of chasing pitches out of the strike zone. Hunter Renfroe mostly shrugged off the recent struggles, noting (correctly) that even the best teams experience team-wide slumps occasionally. But the Sox are missing out on chances in winnable games, and that ups the frustration level.
Barnes expected back Wednesday: Before the game, the Red Sox placed closer Matt Barnes on the IL-COVID list after Barnes reported feeling sick both on the off-day Monday and again today. The scare forced the Red Sox to have the entire roster tested, which produced no positive tests. Meanwhile, Barnes was quarantined at the team hotel, separated from the rest of the team while awaiting the result of his test. After the game, Cora announced that the pitcher's test result had come back negative, with the expectation that he'll be activated from the IL Wednesday, and depending on how he feels, available for use in the second game of the series. You only have to look at the recent outbreaks with the Yankees can decimate a roster -- New York has lost two starting pitchers to positive COVID tests this week alone -- but it appears the Red Sox dodged a considerable bullet with Barnes. The reliever has a similar scare back toward the end of spring training, too.
TURNING POINT
The Red Sox sprinted to a 2-0 lead and lead 2-1 in the third and appeared to have starter Wily Peralta on the ropes. With one out, a single from Xander Bogaerts and soft blooper into right from J.D. Martinez gave the Sox baserunners at the corners and a chance to open up the game early. But Alex Verdugo hit a hard grounder up the middle that shortstop Harold Castro gloved before stepping on second and throwing to first for a neat inning-ending double play. The Sox only got four more hits after that.
ONE UP
Hunter Renfroe: For the second straight game, Renfroe belted a homer. It was the only extra-base hit recorded by the Red Sox all night.
TWO DOWN
Rafael Devers: Devers was 0-for-5, and twice in the last three innings, came to the plate with runners on base, only to strike out both times.
Yacksel Rios: Rios hit 100 mph a few times and fanned three in his only inning of work. But he also gave up consecutive hits with two outs, giving the Tigers a critical insurance run.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"At the end of the day, they scored four runs and offensively, we believe we can score more. This is more about the offense right now, actually, than the pitching. They scored three on Sunday and we didn't find a way to win it offensively. They scored four today. Four runs against us, we do believe we should win those ballgames.'' - Alex Cora.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Franchy Cordero extended his hitting streak to four straight games.
Jarren Duran recorded his first major league stolen base.
Christian Vazquez extended his hitting streak to five games.
UP NEXT: The Red Sox and Tigers meet again Wednesday at 7:10 with LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (7-6, 5.60) vs. RHP Casey Mize (6-5, 3.41)