SPORTS

Is this rock bottom for the Red Sox?

Bill Koch
bkoch@providencejournal.com
Jose Peraza exits in the ninth inning Thursday.

BOSTON --- It felt like the Red Sox crossed a line Thursday afternoon.

This shortened season went from disappointing to embarrassing. And it reached that point in the top of the ninth inning when Jose Peraza took the mound.

This was a Boston team with an expanded roster and 15 pitchers sending a position player to record the final three outs. Its staff had failed so completely through the previous 35 innings against the Rays that an infielder was pressed into service.

And it didn’t end there. Kevin Plawecki was next when Brandon Lowe scalded a liner off Peraza’s right knee. Christian Vazquez was pulled out of the auxiliary dugout to play second base and Tzu-Wei Lin, the Red Sox emergency catcher, went from shortstop to behind the plate.

What is the name of Abner Doubleday was this?

The Rays did what they always seem to do lately at Fenway Park – win. Tampa Bay pounded Boston by a 17-8 count, securing its 13th victory here in its last 14 tries. The Red Sox were worse in every conceivable area over these four games, as the Rays authored a sweep that could all but bury Boston in the American League East race.

“I think once Peraza got smoked in the knee, that’s about as bad as it gets,” Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke said. “Trying to get through a game, and then he gets smoked.”

Tampa Bay didn’t just play itself back within striking distance of the Yankees atop the division. The Rays used an opportunity against the helpless Red Sox to get their season back on track. Boston pitching allowed 16 runs and 16 hits before recording its 16th out of the day, and Tampa Bay collected 42 runs over four days while bludgeoning the Red Sox into submission.

“There are some good players on this team and I still have a lot of confidence in them,” Roenicke said. “I still think it’s going to show up, but it’s hard watching games like that.”

We can only wonder how Boston fans might have reacted in pre-pandemic times throughout these three hours and 44 minutes. There certainly would have been far fewer of them remaining in their seats by the finish. The Red Sox might have been spared the full brunt of their frustrations while putting four different players on the field out of their natural positions.

The role reversal from what used to be the norm when these two clubs met is astonishing. Boston principal owner John Henry wanted something more like Tampa Bay’s baseball operation? He’s got the pre-2008 version at the moment, and there is seemingly no hint of dawn light on the horizon.

Those artists formerly known as the Devil Rays were founded in 1998 and finished a combined 307 games below .500 through their first 10 seasons. Their best year was 2004, as Tampa Bay closed with a .435 winning percentage. The Red Sox would need to win four straight from their current 6-13 just to reach that number.

Boston’s next stop is in the Bronx, a place where it’s already suffered a three-game sweep this season. The Red Sox will attempt to navigate their way through a bullpen game Friday night while New York will send Gerrit Cole to the mound. Boston might consider itself lucky to scrape even a series split considering the current state of affairs.

“We know we have to play a lot better baseball to beat them,” Roenicke said. “I still think we’re capable of doing it. I still feel like we’re going to put together a good little stretch. I’m just waiting to see it happen.”

He’s not the only one waiting.

bkoch@providencejournal.com

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On Twitter:@BillKoch25