All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' loss to the White Sox, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
Houck not up to the task: Admittedly, it wasn't an easy assignment for Tanner Houck, notified two hours before gametime that he would be getting an emergency start. But he did little to answer the call, either, allowing three runs on four hits over just 2.2 innings. Houck's stuff has not been the same as it was a year ago, and unsurprisingly, the results haven't been either. Maybe he's had some difficulty being yanked back and forth between the bullpen and rotation, and the lack of a regular role has been difficult. But he's been hit far harder and the command has been poor, to say nothing of control that comes and goes. He failed to get out of the third inning, and part of the problem came when, after allowing a leadoff single, he hit the No. 8 hitter, Josh Harrison, setting up the remainder of the inning. It didn't help that Rafael Devers couldn't make a play on a slow topper to the left of the mound, but a quality starter picks up his fielders in instances like that and Houck couldn't, allowing a big two-run double to Jose Abreu. Houck's ERA for the season sits at 5.70.
Offense stalls ... again: There's a numbing sameness to the Red Sox' offensive woes. They seem incapable of coming up with the big hit when needed and Sunday was certainly no exception in that regard, as the Sox were a woeful 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Matched up against struggling veteran soft-tosser Dallas Keuchel, the Red Sox had at least one baserunner in all but one of Keuchel's innings of work, but could only break through with two runs in the sixth inning. Twice, they put the leadoff man on base, but squandered any further opportunities. Whether it's execution or approach, the Red Sox aren't getting the job done at the plate. Sunday represented the 16th time this season that they scored three runs or fewer; unsurprisingly, the Sox are a putrid 2-14 in such games.
Rotation takes another hit: The one area of this Red Sox team that's been above reproach has been the starting rotation. But now, the group has been struck in recent days. Over the weekend, LHP Rich Hill tested positive for COVID-19 and will likely miss a start in the coming days. Then, about two hours before gametime, the Red Sox announced that Michael Wacha, who's been their most dominant starter through the first month of play, would not make his scheduled start because of some pain in his left side. Not long after, he was placed on the 15-day IL with left intercostal irritation. The Red Sox maintain that they're merely cautious -- an MRI revealed nothing more serious -- but even backdating him to May 5 means he's going to be out for another 11 days, meaning he could miss a couple of turns. The last thing a struggling club needed was to lose two starting pitchers in the span of 48 hours, but that's exactly what's happened.
TURNING POINT
The offensive tone for this one was set early. In the fourth inning, already down 3-0, the Red Sox looked to be putting together a big inning. They had singles from Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts to put runners at first-and-second with no outs against starter Dallas Keuchel. But J.D. Martinez promptly hit into a 6-4-3 double play, and while Devers, the lead runner, was able to advance to third base, he remained there as Christian Vazquez took a called third strike to end the threat.
TWO UP
Rafael Devers: The Red Sox accumulated nine hits on the afternoon and Devers had three of them, each time staying on some off-speed pitches from Keuchel and driving them up the middle.
Jake Diekman: Diekman, though he was out of the strike zone on a few of his deliveries and issued a walk, showed how lethal his stuff can be by fanning three in his inning of relief in the eighth inning.
TWO DOWN
Trevor Story: This was, in a word, ugly. In four at-bats, Story fanned three more times, giving him 10 strikeouts in the last four games. And once more, Story heard the boos at Fenway.
Christian Vazquez: Though he did manage a run-scoring single in the sixth, it wasn't a good day for the catcher. He had a strike down the middle of the plate tip off his glove and roll away, and had two of the game's worst at-bats, including the ninth inning when, after a leadoff double from J.D. Martinez, he swung at the first pitch and popped up to second, failing to advance the runner.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"We have to make adjustments; it's an adjustment game. Probably I'll shave Monday. It might be an adjustment.'' Alex Cora.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:
* As bad as they've been since the start of the season, this was the first series sweep suffered by the Red Sox.
* Xander Bogaerts had his 10th multi-hit game of the season.
* J.D. Martinez extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a leadoff double in the ninth.
* Christian Arroyo made his 2022 debut at first base in the eighth inning.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox are off Monday before beginning a five-game road trip on Tuesday. They'll send RHP Garrett Whitlock (1-1, 1.25) to the mound at 7:20 p.m. Tuesday in Atlanta vs. TBD.