Red Sox lose more than almost anyone else after a win
Red Sox can’t get a winning streak going when they play like this.
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The Red Sox lost to the Braves Wednesday night, 5-2. No surprise, the Sox lose more often than they win. But, the fact that the Sox lost following a “one-game winning streak’’ should come as no surprise either. Following a win, the Sox are 10-18, tied with the Indians for the second fewest wins in baseball; the Phillies and the Brewers have each only won nine times following a win.
Put another way, the Sox are the only team in baseball without at least a four-game winning streak this season.
When you don’t have an ace, or a number one starter, or arguably a number two or three quality starter and you don’t have consistent hitting, it is very difficult to get a winning streak going.
In games following a win, the Sox have a team ERA of 4.59, the second worst in baseball. Only the Padres at 4.79 have a worse ERA.
Following a win, the Sox are 10-18, the third most losses in baseball; the Indians are 10-20, while the Braves are 12-19.
Following a win, the Sox BAA is .270, ranked 27th in baseball.
Following a win:
•Clay Buchholz is 0-3 with an ERA of 7.30.
•Rick Porcello is 0-2 with a 3.79 ERA.
•Wade Miley is 2-1 with a 4.22 ERA.
•Joe Kelly is 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA.
•Justin Masterson is 0-2 with a 8.14 ERA.
•Eduardo Rodriguez is 1-0 with a 0.69 ERA
In games following a win, the Sox are hitting .243, which is actually pretty good, that’s the ninth highest team BA in baseball.
But… (You knew there would be a “but,’’ didn’t you?)
In games following a win, the Sox are slugging .354, which is actually very bad, that’s the 29th highest team slugging percentage in baseball. They have 66 extra-base hits and 346 total bases, which are each the 27th most in baseball following a win.
And their OBP is .309, 21st in baseball, which means their OPS of .663, the same as the Mets and Angels, places them 26th in baseball.
You can’t blame superhero Brock Holt; he’s hitting .348 in 21 games after a win. And Xander Bogaerts is hitting .300 in 26 games.
But… (You knew there would be but,’’ didn’t you?)
David Ortiz is hitting .196 in 25 games after a win and Mookie Betts is hitting .170 in 27 games.
I know we shouldn’t expect the Sox batters to hit like Paul Goldschmidt, who after 31 Diamondbacks wins is hitting .391 with 10 homers and 26 RBI, while Hanley Ramirez is hitting .276 with five homers and 13 RBI. But, how is it that Francisco Cervelli is hitting .376 after 33 Pirates wins while Dustin Pedroia is hitting .252? And Mark Teixeira has 13 homers after 31 Yankee wins and Pablo Sandoval has one HR after 24 Sox wins? And Todd Frazier is slugging .736 after 28 Reds wins, while Mike Napoli leads the Sox slugging .442?
And what about the Pirates Gerrit Cole who is 6-0 after a Pirates win with a 1.82 ERA? Or Chris Young of the Royals, who is 6-1 with a 1.26 ERA? Or how about former Sox starter John Lackey, who is 4-2 with a 2.98 ERA in eight starts following a Cardinals win?
What do teams like Astros, who are 23-15 after a win, or the Pirates, who are 25-12, or the Cardinals, who are 28-15, have that the “won-and-done’’ Red Sox don’t have?
You can call it “team chemistry’’ or “self-motivation’’ but whatever it is, the Red Sox have exhibited a pattern of failure that has brought them to the brink of irrelevancy by Father’s Day.
The one thing we know for certain, one in a row is simply not a winning streak, and Red Sox can’t seem to get beyond that.
Notable recent Red Sox in-season trades
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