Desperate? That may be a bit of a stretch, considering the calendar and the fact that there are still more than 140 games left to play.
Must-win? Again, some hyperbole there.
But let's agree on this rather simple point: the Red Sox were very much in need of a win Wednesday. Twenty-four hours earlier, they had gone ahead in the eighth inning and carried a three-run lead into the ninth, only to see the lead vanish. In extra innings, the Blue Jays beat them on a walk-off, the second such outcome in the span of four games.
They had already lost four in a row and six of their last seven, and were in imminent danger of turning their weekend series at Camden Yards this week a battle for last place in the American League East.
So, yes, a win was very much in order in the third game of their series at Rogers Centre. And when you need a win, it's always a positive when you get a strong outing from your starting pitcher. Michael Wacha supplied that, giving the Red Sox six innings while allowing just one run. To the surprise of just about everyone. Wacha, a seemingly curious free-agent target of Chaim Bloom last November, has been the team's most dominant and consistent starter in the first month of the season.
The Sox don't win Wednesday without Wacha, who limited Toronto's dynamic duo of Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to one hit in six at-bats combined. It was critical, too, that Wacha give them some length, which he did, becoming only the second Red Sox starter all season long to get through the sixth inning, thus lifting the load on an overworked and under-performing bullpen.
But the key to the Sox' 7-1 thrashing of the Blue Jays was one Xander Bogaerts, who contributed four hits, reached base five times, scored two runs and knocked in another.
Both at shortstop and in the No. 3 spot in the order, Bogaerts is at the center of everything for the Red Sox. He is their north star, their emotional ballast, and the man whom Alex Cora frequently calls "the most consistent person in the organization.''
Bogaerts seems impervious to pressure, and immune from distraction. On Tuesday, he naturally expressed disappointment with the loss. He didn't shy away from the magnitude of the loss. He merely acknowledged it.
"That one did sting a lot,'' he said. "But the game is over with. We can't replay that again. I mean, I wish, but we can't. So tomorrow, we've got to come back and we've got to win one game at a time. Sometimes, when you're in a rut, you kind of want to win five games in one. It's like hitting, you want five hits in one at-bat. It doesn't work that way.''
Simple, to the point. Bogaerts didn't deny the obvious -- that things weren't going well for the Sox -- but neither did he display any panic. Instead, he found solace in the fact that, even in the losses, the Red Sox were being competitive.
"I know we've been losing a lot,'' he said, "but every game, we've been in it.''
That was the talk, the kind that Bogaerts usually provides in times of crisis. Among Red Sox players, he has the longest tenure on the roster, and if this team had an elected captain, he would be it.
Then, on Wednesday, it was time to walk the walk. In the first inning, he beat out an infield single and scored the game's first when Rafael Devers followed with a sharp double to center.
In the third, he singled again, loading the bases as the Sox threatened again. Devers and Martinez, however, both fanned, leaving the bases full.
In the sixth, he led off with his third hit, a single to right, took third on another single from Devers, and scored on a single from Martinez. He drew a walk in the seventh, and with the Sox intent on adding on to avoid any possibility of another late-inning self-immolation, Bogaerts singled to left, scoring Trevor Story for more padding.
It was his first four-hit night of the season, but incredibly, his seventh game with at least three hits, the most in club history inside the first 20 games of the season. He leads all of baseball in base hits and is batting .397.
On a night when the rest of the team finally hit, the guy who's been hitting along continued to lead the way.
"He's a guy, his track record speaks for itself,'' said Cora. "We know the track record, we know the player and he's doing an amazing job, taking what they give him. I was joking with him, 'If they're going to keep shifting on you, go for the batting title,' and he was like, 'Nah, I'm going to hit homers, too.' He's such a good player, such an offensive threat. He can pull it for power, he can go the other way and I'm glad that he's playing for us.''