Red Sox manager Alex Cora didn’t feel the need to address his team after a miserable 11-1 loss to the lowly White Sox Friday night.
He said the defeat didn’t set off alarm bells that his talented group would be long-term underperformers.
But Cora didn’t mince words about what he saw play out over two hours and 46 minutes as the Red Sox opened a six-game, two-city road trip with a whimper.
“It’s a horrible night. We know it,” said Cora. “Everybody knows it (in) there (the clubhouse). It’s a horrible night in every aspect of the game.”
Facing a White Sox team that set an MLB record with 121 losses and entered the evening having lost eight straight, the Red Sox committed five errors, allowed six unearned runs, had just seven hits and went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position, continuing a recent trend. The game was effectively over when the White Sox capitalized on a Triston Casas fielding error on a potential inning-ending double play ball in the fourth, scored four off starter Sean Newcomb, and went up 6-0.
In addition to Casas’ miscue, the Red Sox had two errors on catchers’ interference calls against Blake Sabol plus fielding errors on pitcher Josh Winckowski and center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela. It was the first time the Red Sox have committed five or more errors since August 21, 2021 — a game Cora called “embarrassing” and unacceptable” in a fiery postgame session then. It’s the first time since 1996 that the Sox have had 19 or more errors in 15 games to start a year.
“We didn’t execute today. We didn’t,” said Cora. “It’s not lack of energy. Energy comes from offense, and we didn’t hit so it looks that way. Defensively, we had a chance to turn the double play, we didn’t. The interferences, we have to be better at that. We have four or five already. We have to pitch better. Overall, that was a bad game for all of us. It’s easy to turn the page because we know what we have to do: show up and play better.”
Offensively, Boston’s lineup has completely stalled since an 18-run outburst on Sunday night against the Cardinals. In five games against the Blue Jays and White Sox, the Red Sox have scored just nine runs (1.8 per game). Facing a relative unknown in 28-year-old Davis Martin on Friday, Boston again couldn’t get anything going or capitalize on its chances.
“It has been a while,” Cora said. “We’ve just got to keep the line moving. That’s the most important thing. And execute.”
The Red Sox, who had big preseason expectations after the offseason acquisitions of Garrett Crochet and Alex Bregman, have been middling so far, and are now 7-8 through 15 games. The streaky Sox lost four of their first five, got hot with four straight wins against Baltimore and St. Louis, and then hit the wall again and have lost four of five. In an early stretch during which most of the club’s games have been played in frigid weather, the group has looked tight.
“It’s execution now,” Cora said. “It’s not about potential and this and that. We have to execute.”
Despite Friday’s result, the Red Sox seem to have a good chance to stack some wins together in the coming days, with six of their next nine against a White Sox team that is once again projected to lose 100+ games in 2025. The turnaround might start as early as Saturday afternoon when Boston faces old friend Martín Pérez in the middle game of a three-game set.
“We didn’t have a good week defensively at home, and this was a bad night defensively. A bad night overall,” Cora said. We didn’t hit, we didn’t play defense, we didn’t hit. Turn the page, be ready for tomorrow. But we’ve got to be better.”
“We’ve got to stay the course, too. You cannot panic. But at the same time, we’ve got to get going.”
