That’s true, to a degree. The key, however, was that those who were swinging hot bats were often getting their hits with runners on base. The team’s numbers in the clutch were extremely good.
Unless you hit several solo homers a game, it’s hard to exist without getting runners on base and then getting them in. Suddenly, the final portion of that formula has become a glaring issue. Boston has dropped three straight games to National League opponents, scoring a grand total of six runs in that span and wasting opportunity after opportunity with men on base.
The futility reached a new low in a 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.
The Red Sox left 11 men on base against the Pirates, going 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position. They are 7-for-32 (.219) in those situations over the course of the three straight losses after hitting .380 (65-for-171) with runners in scoring position over the first 17 games this month.
Because of a pretty solid effort by Jon Lester and two innings of scoreless relief from the bullpen, the opener in Pittsburgh was a nip-and-tuck affair. That only served to amplify the missed scoring chances.
Boston actually was on the board first, turning a leadoff walk to Jacoby Ellsbury into a quick 1-0 lead. They loaded the bases with two outs in the third, only to see Darnell McDonald ground out to end it. McDonald also flied out to center to finish the fifth with two runners on base. Marco Scutaro lined into a double play to end the top of the sixth and the Pirates bullpen showed incredible escapability thereafter.
The Red Sox had two on and just one out in the seventh with Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Youkilis due up. Gonzalez popped up to the catcher and Youkilis went down swinging, stranding two more.
To that point, much of the vitriol seemed to be directed at McDonald, but through no fault of his own. He was batting fifth, making him the veritable replacement in the lineup for David Ortiz, on the bench with the pitcher hitting. So, when McDonald finished his first three at-bats 0-for-3 with six left on base, it was natural for many to wonder if things would be different with Ortiz in his customary spot.
Perhaps, but it’s worth noting that Ortiz was 0-for-8 with 12 runners left on base in the first two games of the team’s current slide. The struggles have been team-wide. Additionally, Ortiz had a chance of his own go by the board in this one.
After the Sox got two men in scoring position with one out in the eight, Marco Scutaro became a strikeout victim. That turned the order to the pitcher’s spot and allowed Terry Francona to call upon Ortiz.
A lengthy battle in the rain with Jose Veras resulted in a ground ball up the middle that shortstop Ronny Cedeno fielded and threw to first to end the final threat of the night for Boston.
“The results weren’t what you want, but the fight was there,” Ortiz said.
That line would do well to sum up this mini stretch of futility for the Sox, who are getting them on but not getting them in.
