A ‘brutal’ day
It’s not so much an air of resignation in the Red Sox clubhouse as it is the realization that an immediate solution needs to be found before the reeling becomes too much to overcome.
“We need help,” David Ortiz reiterated for the second straight night.
Every good horror film has a sequel. And so we bring you the latest installment of The Boston Massacre.
The Red Sox have dropped the first three games of this pivotal five-game series against the Yankees in ghastly fashion, as New York rode 13 walks to a 13-5 loss that drops Boston 4 ½ games back in the AL East.
“We knew we had the momentum on our side based on how long it took us to do last night what we did,” Yankees manager Joe Torre said. “Big things happen when you think small and these guys are taking what they give us.”
Josh Beckett dished out nine walks and nine earned runs, both career-highs in the loss, an outing he called “brutal,” which is a fair assessment.
“I don’t think there’s any other word, really, to use,” he said.
Beckett is 0-3 with an 8.75 ERA in his last four starts.
“That all falls squarely on my shoulder,” Beckett said. “I know our bullpen is tired and for me to make them go into the well in the sixth inning again is just unacceptable.”
It is the first time Boston pitching has allowed 10 or more runs for three straight games since 2003 in Toronto. The Red Sox have allowed 12 or more runs for three straight games for the first time in franchise history.
The Red Sox have lost 10 of their last 14, are just 6-12 this month, and the pitching staff has allowed 39 runs to cross the plate in this series already with two more games remaining.
For Beckett, it was his third loss in four starts this month. He has not won since July 24 at Oakland, and is just 2-4 since the All-Star break.
“It’s unacceptable,” Beckett said. “My last two starts they’ve been bad, man…You’ve got to work hard between this start and my next one and do better your next time. That’s kind of the way it is. My old man used to tell me if you fall off the horse you have to get right back on.”
For his teammates’ sakes, that had better be one big horse. There are plenty of guys that need to hop back on it.
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