These are the games the Red Sox can’t afford to lose.
It’s been a reoccurring trend over the past month for the Red Sox, who have dropped nine of their last 13 contests. But Tuesday’s 7-1 loss to the Orioles is even more devastating to the team’s playoff hopes.
By dropping the decision, the Red Sox have fallen 6 1/2 games behind the Orioles in the American League wild card race. At the moment, the Orioles are clinging onto the last berth into the postseason.
That’s why this stretch is so crucial for Boston. Had they capitalized on their chance and toppled the Orioles on Tuesday, the Red Sox would have begun making up ground on one of their wild card competitors.
Sure, the Athletics, Angels and Tigers are still ahead in the race. But silencing the Orioles’ momentum would’ve put some pressure on Baltimore and, at this point, the Red Sox need opposing teams in the standings to feel the heat.
Now, the Red Sox have coughed up another opportunity. With a power outage from the offense — and Josh Beckett struggling for the second straight start — the team has yet another step to overcome in the uphill battle.
“Well, we battle every inning,” Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine told reporters in Baltimore. “We had men on base and we kept giving it a try.”
It hasn’t been effective against Baltimore. With Tuesday’s defeat, the Orioles have taken seven of 10 games. And realistically, who would’ve expected before this season that Wei-Yin Chen would outduel Josh Beckett?
But Chen stymied the Red Sox lineup, allowing nine hits and one earned run over six innings. In the process, he claimed his 11th victory — currently more wins than any pitcher in the Red Sox rotation.
“You got to pitch better and you don’t need to worry about any of that stuff,” Beckett told reporters.
The bullpen also looked shaky, when Mark Melancon yielded a three-run home run to Mark Reynolds in the sixth. While Melancon inherited two of the runners from Beckett, it prolonged a nightmare season for the reliever.
The sequence spoiled what was supposed to be a bright moment in a tumultuous season for Boston, considering Andrew Bailey made his Red Sox debut after being shelved all season long with a thumb injury.
“We got to win ball games and I got to be ready to go,” Bailey told reporters. “Unfortunately [my return] took a little more time than expected.”
On this day, he tossed 1/3 of an inning with the game out of reach. Little by little, the wild card race could also slip away if the Red Sox don’t push the Orioles to the limit.
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