Just about everything went wrong for the Red Sox in Thursday's 10-3 loss at the Cleveland Guardians to drop a third straight series.
It started going wrong even before the game when Boston recalled the controversial Matt Dermody, creating a needless sideshow, before benching Alex Verdugo for what was labeled as a lack of hustle, even if he was far from the biggest problem in Wednesday's loss.
When the actual game got rolling, it became apparent that Dermody wasn't going to lock it down. Neither was Corey Kluber, who blew up in the sixth in a feeble 3.1 innings of work.
Outside of the pitching, the bats again were ice cold, save for a Triston Casas solo shot.
A key bat in Verdugo sat on the bench, while power threats like Rafael Devers (0-for-3) and Justin Turner (0-for-4) continued to go quietly into the night. Masataka Yoshida (1-for-5) got his regularly scheduled hit, though.
It was another frustrating showing from Devers and the top bats.
Verdugo's had a quiet June, hitting just .222. He's hitless in three straight (0-for-8). It's never a good look when a key heart-and-soul piece of the lineup sits because of a lack of hustle.
Turner finished the series just 1-for-13 at the plate. While he's had a decent year at 38 years old (.256 average), his power has expectedly, seen a drop-off with a .401 slugging percentage this season, compared to his career average of .463 and well below his prime. Don't look up J.D. Martinez's numbers with the Dodgers. To save you some of the trouble, he currently holds a .613 slugging percentage, the highest since his first year in Boston in 2018, and a .918 OPS, his highest since 2019.
With the pitching struggles of the previous two nights, any sort of offensive contribution from the top bats would have helped put a shine on the direction Boston is heading, now below .500 for the first time since April 28.
The Sox have lost five of their last six, eight of their last 11 and 18 of their last 28 games.
It all starts with Devers, though. The Red Sox flat-out need more from the face of the franchise.
The 26-year-old may be tied for third in the Majors with 50 RBI, but he's batting just .243 with a .770 OPS.
With a decent 2-for-4 showing on Wednesday with an RBI, it appeared as if Devers might have turned a corner in this latest slump, but Thursday felt like two steps back. He finished the three games in Cleveland just 2-for-11.
After a hot start to the season with an April that saw him blast 10 home runs with a .561 slugging percentage in 107 at-bats, Devers' power has dried up, and seemingly, the rest of Boston's has with it.
In May, Devers had just three bombs, and his slugging dipped to .421. in 95 at-bats. He worked just three walks, as opposed to eight.
So far in June, the electrifying, game-changing plate appearances from Devers haven't returned. He has just two extra-base hits (a pair of doubles in one game on June 1) in 28 at-bats. He's hitting a lowly .214, and his slugging has plummeted to .286. The plate discipline has improved with already six walks in the month, but he's not getting paid to walk.
"I feel okay [at the plate]," Devers said via an interpreter on Wednesday. "I think my timing is a little bit off. I don't feel like I used to feel. But I know that's going to come back at some point. That's where I'm working hard on it."
In Devers' last 15 games, he's batting a meek .193 (11-for-57) with a .246 slugging. It's even worse in his last seven games, which have been his coldest, hitting just .160 (4-for-25) with a .160 slugging. He has just two RBI in that span.
Devers hasn't hit a home run since May 19, when he had a pair in San Diego.
Perhaps, all Devers needs is one swing. It's apparently all José Ramírez needed on Thursday. The slumping Guardians slugger snapped out of his funk with three home runs and five RBI.
“He’s a good hitter,” Cora told reporters. “Yesterday he had the double at the end of the game in his last at-bat. He put a good swing on the fastball up and then the 3-1 pitch put another one. With [Kluber], I think he got a breaking ball, hit it in the air. You look at his numbers and you’re like, ‘At one point he’s going to get hot.’ It’s kind of like the way we see Raffy, right? He didn’t look too good early on, José, and then he has a huge night like this.
"Hopefully we can have that from the big boy at one point this weekend.”
Boston can only hope that one swing comes in what will be a massive series with the Yankees this weekend.