After 16 consecutive days of play, the Red Sox finally caught a break on Thursday.
Unfortunately, the much-needed day off likely came too late for Boston’s beleaguered team, which went 1-6 during their homestand against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, to wrap up August with a 13-15 record.
Every game of the regular season counts, but this was the 10-game stretch when the Red Sox needed to be, as Mary Poppins would say, “practically perfect in every way.”
Instead, they fell apart in almost every way. Starting pitchers averaged 4 2/3 innings per start in August. The Astros pummeled the Boston bullpen during this week’s sweep, and other than Adam Duvall, the team should have an all-points bulletin out for the Boston bats. After Triston Casas gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead in the first inning of Monday’s series opener, Houston outscored Boston 26-9 the rest of the week.
A day off, or rather a travel day before their weekend series in Kansas City, can’t fix any of that.
With 28 games left in the regular season, the Red Sox’s chances of sneaking into the postseason are slim. Wednesday’s loss pushed them to 7 1/2 games behind the Astros in the wild-card race.
At this point, finishing the season with a winning record and keeping the Yankees in last place is probably the best this team can do.
ROSTER MOVES: The Red Sox reinstated Wilyer Abreu from the Paternity List.. His Major League debut came last week in Houston.
Over five games, the 24-year-old outfielder is 6 for 17 (.353) with a pair of doubles, one home run and five RBI.
As the corresponding move, the Red Sox optioned infielder David Hamilton back to Triple-A Worcester.
It was a bit of a surprise to see Hamilton sent down, but Ceddanne Rafaela, who was called up for Abreu, offers more versatility; he plays shortstop and center field. Even before the season began he was considered a Major League-caliber defender by many evaluators within the organization and around the league.
Rafaela got into his first-ever Major League game on Monday night, playing the last two innings in center. The 22-year-old top prospect — ranked No. 3 in the organization — made his first career start on Wednesday, and spent all nine innings at short.
Enmanuel Valdez was also pulled from Worcester’s Wednesday night game, and could be joining the big league team on the road.
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