3 reasons for optimism and 3 causes for concern as the Red Sox try to secure a playoff spot
Garrett Crochet bounced back, but the bullpen unraveled in a 5-3 loss to the Marlins on Sunday.
COMMENTARY
The Red Sox had everything all lined up and appeared to be on their way to another sweep at Fenway Park.
Garrett Crochet returned to form, Wilyer Abreu provided the offense, and the defense played a clean game.
Then, Boston’s bullpen allowed one run in the eighth plus three in the ninth on two back-breaking home runs. The result was a head-scratching, 5-3 loss to a mediocre Marlins team that had dropped eight of its last 10.
“It’s really disappointing, especially with how good Garrett pitched today,” said Steven Matz, who allowed the second homer. “It was just kind of a wasted outing. It’s really disappointing. It would have been really nice to sweep right there.”
It’s not time to panic. It was just one game, and the Red Sox (68-57) are 16-3 in their last 19 home games. They’re still in an ideal spot, are playing crisp baseball more often than not, and appear to be fully capable of making a run.
But Sunday’s surprising setback did raise some potential question marks as the stretch run approaches and they try to cement their first playoff berth since 2021.
Here are three reasons for optimism and three causes for concern as the calendar nears September and the action intensifies:
Optimism No. 1 – Starting pitching
Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet had his last outing on his mind as he took the mound against the Marlins.
“I don’t forget that easily,” Crochet said. “In this game, it’s good to have a short memory, but I also feel like it’s beneficial in my case to remember what happened, what went wrong, and try to go in the opposite direction as much as possible.”
Crochet’s lone blemish came when Eric Wagaman blasted a solo home run in the third. Otherwise, though the Marlins did have some traffic in the later innings, Crochet was efficient and largely in control.
He pitched seven innings and allowed one run on three hits, striking out eight and walking one. Crochet threw 60 of his 94 pitches for strikes, recording his eighth outing of seven-plus innings and zero or one runs allowed this season.
Crochet leads the Majors in strikeouts (196) and is fourth in ERA (2.43). He’s gone 9-1 with a 2.77 ERA since the start of June. That’ll do. Having a true ace is franchise-changing, and the Red Sox are fortunate to have one in Crochet.
Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello have both made strides as well, giving the Red Sox a formidable 1-2-3 built for October.
Concern No. 1 – Bullpen woes
After building a commanding 7-0 lead against the Marlins on Saturday, the Red Sox ended up needing closer Aroldis Chapman to cement a 7-5 win that was much closer than it should have been.
That came after Chapman earned the win Friday night, and the back-to-back outings made him unavailable entering Sunday’s finale.
Garrett Whitlock has had a strong season overall, but he allowed a run in the eighth Sunday to make it 3-2 Red Sox. Greg Weissert gave up a blast to Dane Myers to start the ninth, then Jakob Marsee belted a two-run homer off Matz to give Miami a 5-3 edge.
The Red Sox put runners on first and second in the bottom of the ninth but couldn’t tie it. It was the second-straight game that was tighter than it needed to be, and this time the lack of late-game execution burned Boston.
“It sucks to be the person that is responsible for it,” Weissert said.
While Chapman has been terrific, he can’t do it alone. Time will tell whether this is an outlier or the start of a trend, but it’s certainly something to monitor.
Having said that, the Red Sox are still 57-2 when leading after eight innings, and yes, the world is still spinning. This one got away, but the Red Sox have generally not let duds like this happen.
“That’s what we’ve been doing all season, picking each other up,” Weissert said. “I just didn’t get it done tonight, unfortunately.”
Optimism No. 2 – Wilyer Abreu’s bat
Abreu benefited from a fortuitous bounce in right field in the fourth inning when he smashed one toward the fence. The ball hit Myers’ glove, rolled around a bit, then plopped into the bullpen to give Boston a 2-1 lead.
“Tough to say if that ball was going to go out or not, but obviously it was a good help,” Abreu said through a translator.
Abreu, who is hitting .300 in his last 16 games, leads the Red Sox in home runs with 22 and is second in RBIs behind Trevor Story (69).
He also singled and scored an important run in the seventh, giving Boston a 3-1 cushion that seemed like it would be enough.
Concern No. 2 – Abreu’s calf
When Abreu scored on Abraham Toro’s sacrifice fly, he felt tightness in his right calf.
He exited the game, which forced the Red Sox to shuffle their fielders around more than manager Alex Cora likely would have wanted to.
Abreu said he doesn’t believe he’ll need an MRI or have to go on the injured list, and he’ll wait to hear from the medical staff to determine a plan.
“I felt like a cramp,” Abreu said. “Right now, I’m day to day, to see how I wake up tomorrow, how it evolves. I’ll hopefully be ready, I’d say probably two or three days, I’ll be ready for New York.”
Abreu is one of Boston’s most versatile players and a staple in the lineup. While it doesn’t appear to be anything serious, it’s something to keep tabs on in the coming days and weeks.
Optimism No. 3 – Jarren Duran is on fire
Jarren Duran walked, stole second, and scored in the fourth, then doubled in the sixth to highlight a strong all-around day.
Duran is batting .293 with four home runs, 14 extra-base hits, 16 RBIs, and 18 runs since July 21 and has reached safely in 36 of his last 39 games.
Entering Sunday, he ranked fourth in Major League Baseball in extra-base hits since the start of 2024 – behind only Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, and Bobby Witt. Jr.
Moving him to the No. 3 spot has been a game-changer, and his knack for putting pressure on the defense goes a long way for this lineup.
Concern No. 3 – Production from the bottom of the lineup
The top of the lineup has been consistent of late, but the bottom hasn’t been terrific. While it’s fair to expect a bit of a drop-off, the decline has been noticeable.
Carlos Narváez entered the day hitting .212 since the start of June. Ceddanne Rafaela started the day batting .208 in 26 games since the All-Star break. Toro entered hitting .195 in his last 47 games. Connor Wong is batting .169 and has five RBIs.
The lineup is still strong as a whole, but six through nine isn’t producing like it was early in the year at the moment. While Toro and Narváez did record hits Sunday, they struggled in key spots and couldn’t will Boston to a win.
“It was a weird game,” Cora said. “I think offensively we didn’t do much.”
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