Heading into the four-game series against the Yankees, the Red Sox were already sensing the pressure, sitting seven and a half games behind New York for first place in the American League East.
With the chance to gain ground, Boston stumbled. After Sunday's 7-3 loss –– their third defeat in three days –– the Red Sox plummeted back to the basement, where they dwelled for the majority of the first half of the season.
"I’d rather not [talk about it]," Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said of the series. "I wanted to win as many as we lost. Disappointing."
Who could blame him? It was the perfect time to pounce. With CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte shelved with their respective injuries, the door was open for Red Sox to exploit New York's losses and explode offensively.
Instead, the Red Sox struck out –– literally. The order combined to whiff 15 times in Sunday's loss, the most for Boston in a nine-inning game against an American League club since September 21, 2007.
Now, as a result of the struggles, the Red Sox are 43-43 and trail the Yankees by nine and a half games.
"We won the one game, but we couldn’t pull it off and get big hits when we needed to in some other games," said outfielder Ryan Sweeney. "It's tough, when you go out there and when they have good pitchers –– Freddy Garcia threw a good game the other day."
But Garcia didn't even start the season in the Yankees' rotation. The 35-year-old owned a 5.94 ERA entering the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Sox, but limited them to six hits and one run in his lone start.
As potent as the Yankees' lineup is, the Red Sox pitching staff was punished by Andruw Jones of all people. The veteran smacked four home runs in three days to trigger Boston's tumble down the standings.
And Jon Lester was feeling the frustration afterward.
"It’s a horse [expletive] first half," Lester said. "I can only speak for myself. Uncharted water for me. I've just got to keep grinding it out. I can’t give up, I've just got to keep working. That’s all I can control."
By dropping six of their last seven games, the Red Sox have a hike back to the pinnacle of the AL East. But David Ortiz and Co. learned last September how quickly a big lead can evaporate.
"It can’t get no worse," Ortiz said. "I mean it can get worse, don’t get me wrong. But hopefully, it doesn’t go that way."
The Red Sox will have a four-day breather before starting anew on Friday.
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