The last thing an already struggling Red Sox lineup needed was an afternoon with Kevin Gausman.
But in baseball, as in life, you get what you get. The Red Sox, perhaps predictably, didn't get much. Through eight innings, they scattered some singles around, but managed just one baserunner in scoring position.
In fact, if you're looking for silver linings, there was one. After going a pathetic 4-for-37 with runners in scoring position in the previous three games, the Red Sox' ineptitude in that category wasn't much of a factor. Until the ninth, they were just 0-for-1 in such at-bats.
When a leadoff single by Trevor Story greeted Gausman in the ninth, the starter was lifted and the Jays summoned closer Jordan Romano. Next up was a walk, a double from Xander Bogaerts producing the home team's first run of the afternoon, and a groundout to right, producing a second run.
But with Bogaets perched on third base, representing the potential tying run, the Sox couldn't get the equalizer. Two groundouts stranded him there, and the ninth inning rally proved to be only a tease.
Over the last four games, the Sox have tallied just eight runs, and no matter how good your pitching is, you're not going to win a lot of games while averaging two runs.
Blame it on the cold weather, the shortened spring training or whatever you'd like, but the Red Sox offensive attack is, for now, ineffectual.
"A little bit,'' said Bogaerts, when asked if the team's poor offense showing was a surprise development in the first two weeks. "Obviously, we know that's definitely one of the stronger points that we have going for us. Listen, we had a short spring training. I don't want to (offer) excuses, but it's tough when you're trying to get your timing back and you have to do it in the big leagues and be quick about it.
"Hopefully, we'll get hot sooner rather than later.''
The lineup has a different look to it in the final game of the homestand. Kike Hernandez, who was 0-for-7 and just 3-for-20, sat, with Story inserted into the top spot. J.D. Martinez, battling an adductor muscle pull, sat, too, with Bobby Dalbec at third, Rafael Devers filling Martinez's spot as the DH and Travis Shaw at first. None of if mattered, none of it worked.
Gausman didn't help. He proved to be a strike-throwing machine. The Red Sox' game plan had their hitters swinging early in the count, to avoid falling behind to Gausman, but all that did was enable him to make quick work of the Sox. After eight innings, he had thrown just over 80 pitches.
"These guys are grinding,'' said interim manager Will Venable, who took over in the dugout when Alex Cora tested positive for COVID less than an hour before game time. "It's obviously an offensive-minded club and we know we have a lot of capable guys. It's just a matter of time before they get back on track.''
That's probably true. The top two-thirds of the Red Sox lineup is well-established, with plenty of past success. It's inconceivable that this group won't eventually produce.
At the same time, it's hard to feel positive at their approach over the last week. The Red Sox didn't collect a single walk off Gausman and had just one off Romano. For the series, the Sox drew a grand total of five walks, which hardly suggests patience.
Before he was sidelined, Cora lamented that the lineup wasn't putting much pressure on the opposition. The Sox are the only team in either league without a single stolen base. Even the power has been, for the time being, shut off. In 13 games, they have just 10 homers, ranking them near the bottom third of all teams. Just two players -- Rafael Devers (two) and Alex Verdugo (three) have multiple homers.
Without a lot of stolen base threats and without the power switch yet flipped, the Red Sox have had the look of a team standing around waiting for something to happen. Not much has, especially at home, where they've traditionally been one the more formidable offensive teams.
The next seven games will see the Red Sox playing two tough division rivals -- Tampa Bay this weekend, and four in Toronto against the same Blue Jays beginning Monday. Both teams will offer climate-controlled conditions, so the weather won't be a factor. Chances are, however, that the opposing pitching staffs will.
For now, the mantra appears to be: "We'll hit, because we always have.''
However much of that sounds like a rationalization, it's probably true. But until it does, the Red Sox are wasting some quality pitching on their part and losing some ground in a division that figures to be tightly contested to the end.