Poor Alex Cora.
As if things weren't already bad enough with his team -- three games under .500 for the first time since June 1 and five full games out of the third and final wild card spot in the American League -- he had his closer, Tanner Houck, placed on the IL prior to their 9-7, 11-inning loss to the Atlanta Braves.
Until Tuesday, Cora had three relievers upon whom he could depend: John Schreiber, Garrett Whitlock and Houck.
Now, that list is down to just two.
Every night, Cora has to weigh his options and determine whether to go for a win. If he uses Whitlock for more than three outs, he's lost for the next two days. Schreiber, though his numbers are still strong, has struggled of late, likely because of the workload. And losing Houck takes away one more security blanket.
There are an additional five relievers on call in the Boston bullpen, but none of whom the team would trust in a high leverage spot. Hirokazu Sawamura is a decent middle-inning option and can help eat some low-leverage innings. After that? Ryan Brasier sports a 5.10 ERA. Matt Barnes, who missed two months with a shoulder injury, is still battling the same command issues that plagued him prior to his diagnosis. In Tuesday's loss, he couldn't get through the sixth after issuing a walk, allowing a run-scoring double and then another walk.
There are two lefties: Austin Davis and Darwinzon Hernandez. Davis has been effective in spots, including a couple of assignments as the team's opener, but his 4.76 ERA reflects someone who is struggling, Finally, there is Hernandez, who has been shelled for 13 earned runs in his last 3.1 innings and sports a WHIP of 3.529.
There are some reinforcements on the horizon. Matt Strahm is set to go on a rehab assignment this week and could be back before too long. The same goes for Tyler Danish. But neither is going to be someone whom Cora regularly gives the ball to in either the eighth or ninth.
In the meantime, Cora watches games like Tuesday night when Rich Hill was deemed too risky to face the Braves' lineup a third time, necessitating a lot of work for the bullpen the rest of the way. As luck would have it, that included two extra innings when the game was tied 6-6 after nine.
Just what the Sox needed.
While the Braves had relief aces Kenley Jansen and Rafael Iglesias to get big outs in the eighth and ninth, journeyman Kaleb Ort was the Sox' best weapon.
"It's going to be tough, but guys have to step up,'' said Cora. "Barnesy, Sawa, the lefties...Regardless of whether (Houck) was healthy or not, we've got to throw the ball better. We saw some flashes, but at the same time, there was one inning there with an 0-and-2 count and two outs, and all of a sudden, they had first-and-second with two outs. We haven't put a good job putting guys away. We walked seven and only struck out four.''
Cora had Whitlock pitch three innings in Saturday's loss to Kansas City, while Schreiber was asked to get five outs the night before. Again, only so much can be asked of them night after night.
The current situation once again begs the question: why didn't the Red Sox add to their bullpen at the trade deadline?
It's become almost a given that contending teams add relievers at the deadline. The Yankees did it. So did the Twins, Blue Jays, Astros, White Sox and others. Oddly, the Sox did not.
Chaim Bloom was attempting to thread the needle -- boosting the current team's admitted slim playoff chances while also stockpiling for the future -- but acquiring a reliable relief arm shouldn't have been beyond his reach. If Bloom could find a starting outfielder, a starting first baseman and an experienced catcher, surely some bullpen reinforcements wouldn't have bankrupt his stockpile of prospects.
It's more obvious with each passing day that the Sox aren't positioned to make a run for a playoff spot over the next seven weeks. But even if the postseason looks more and more unattainable, there's the matter of remaining competitive over the final 50 or so games.
Three times in the last five games, the Sox were in winnable games in the last two series. They lost all three -- last Thursday in Kansas CIty, Saturday when Whitlock allowed a walk-off homer to his ninth hitter, and again Tuesday night.
And now, without Houck, it's likely to get worse before it gets better.