BOSTON — A tough weekend against the New York Yankees dropped the Boston Red Sox to 2-7 in the nine games that had followed the All-Star break.
Monday arrived with another Red Sox trade, albeit not one that will immediately impact the big league team, as competitors across the league bolstered lineups and rotations on the day before the trade deadline.
Advertisem*nt
On top of it all, the Red Sox were set to face the Seattle Mariners, sitting just behind them in the AL wild-card standings. Right-hander Logan Gilbert, one of the best pitchers in baseball, was on the mound for the Mariners, sporting a 2.72 ERA.
It served as a recipe for another tough game.
Instead the Red Sox flipped the script.
Boston pounded Gilbert for seven runs, knocking him out of the game after just 2 2/3 innings en route to commanding 14-7 victory. The win helped them move within a half game of the third wild-card spot.
“We’ve had a slow start to the second half, no secret there,” said Wilyer Abreu, whose clutch 12-pitch at-bat with two outs in the third sparked a seven-run outburst. “But we just got to keep staying focused. Keep battling. And we know we have a next day. We know we have a next game to win and that’s how we approach it.”
One could describe this at bat as… HAVOC. pic.twitter.com/VstAxeoYom
— Red Sox (@RedSox) July 30, 2024
All season the Red Sox have shown an intangible brand of scrappiness, overcoming injuries, errors, rookie mistakes, offensive droughts and pitching meltdowns. They’ve proven they can fight for a postseason spot and deserve reinforcements. Will chief baseball officer Craig Breslow deliver?
A team source indicated on Monday the club is still very much in the mix to add pitching while a right-handed hitting infielder with versatility is also on the to-do list.
“They’re working. They’re working hard,” manager Alex Cora said before the game about the front office. “So we just got to be patient.”
Boston’s rough stretch since the All-Star break hasn’t been because of its offense. The Red Sox have scored five or more runs in eight of 10 games since the break. Pitching remains the biggest need entering the 6 p.m. deadline and not bolstering the pitching beyond the starter James Paxton, who takes the mound Tuesday, would be a rough look for Breslow.
Advertisem*nt
Despite those recent pitching woes, Nick Pivetta did his part on Monday to help reset the bullpen, throwing 6 2/3 innings, rebounding from a rocky outing in Colorado. He allowed three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out 10.
But the story off the night was the offense and the fact that it was able to bounce back after a rough weekend against such a good pitcher.
Jarren Duran beat out a would-be double play in the third inning, reaching on a fielder’s choice and Connor Wong scored on a wild pitch. With two outs, Abreu battled Gilbert for 12 pitches, fouling off pitch after pitch, before slicing a single to right to make it 2-0.
Then the onslaught began. Two batters later, Masataka Yoshida crushed a two-run homer. Rafael Devers and Tyer O’Neill doubled for another run. Dom Smith added another double to make it 6-0, knocking Gilbert from the game. Wong added his second double of the inning to plate another run, but got caught trying to steal third.
The Red Sox finished the night with 11 extra-base hits, their most since 2019. Yoshida had a three-hit night and drove in four runs.
“That’s what they do, right?” Cora said of his offense. “We’ve been talking about it. I know, I said over and over again, you’ve just got to turn the page and be ready for the next one.”
Still Cora admitted the weekend against the Yankees took its toll on the team.
“We kind of needed it to be honest with you,” Cora said of the commanding win. “The weekend, yeah we lost the series, but it was like every pitch it felt like it meant a lot. Probably bigger than what it really was, right? But it was very intense and to be able to breathe a little bit today, it was good for us.”
And now the trade deadline has arrived, marking the final time to improve the club with 57 games left on the schedule. It’s Breslow’s turn to make a move.
(Photo of Duran and Abreu: Brian Fluharty / Getty Images)
Jen McCaffrey is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Boston Red Sox. Prior to joining The Athletic, the Syracuse graduate spent four years as a Red Sox reporter for MassLive.com and three years as a sports reporter for the Cape Cod Times. Follow Jen on Twitter @jcmccaffrey
