After a historic run in late June and into July, you knew things would end up evening out for the Boston Red Sox. That appears to be the case in September. With 10 games remaining in the regular season, the Red Sox are five games clear of the third and final American League wild-card spot.
They are destined for a matchup in a couple of weeks in a best-of-three series against the New York Yankees in the Bronx. However, Boston is struggling as the regular season winds down after a 7-3 loss to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night in Arlington. The Red Sox are 5-5 in their last 10 games. What’s going on in September? Interim manager Chad Tracy had a simple answer.
Boston Red Sox Interim Manager Chad Tracy Drops Simple Answer on Team’s Struggles
Boston is 0-2 on their final road trip of the regular season and will look to avoid a sweep by Texas on Thursday night. They will be sending ace Sonny Gray to the mound. However, the loss on Wednesday night was another frustrating one, but Tracy had a simple answer for his teams recent struggles.
“Probably the easy answer is: baseball,” Tracy said, per Tim Healey of the Boston Globe. “We got some guys going through it, and then you could see one or two big swings in a complete turn the other direction. So we just gotta keep plugging away at it.”
First baseman Willson Contreras gave Boston a 2-0 first-inning lead on a two-run home run. However, Texas scored seven of the game’s final eight runs. Contreras said that despite the recent stretch, Boston is in the right mind set.
“First-inning homer, it’s always good, but it’s even better if we win,” Contreras said, per Healey. “We battle. We come here with the right mindset. We work hard . . . But sometimes it’s baseball. Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how hard we work. Sometimes, the results are not gonna come. But you have to build off that. You have to take those types of games personal and get better for tomorrow.”
Boston managed just two hits over the last eight innings. Trevor Story and pinch-hitter Nick Sogard had the other two hits. That won’t win many regular season games, never mind playoff games.
Boston Red Sox Have Difficult Regular Season Schedule Left
Boston’s 10 remaining games are all against teams with something to play for. Texas is tied for the AL West lead with the Houston Astros. The Rays are looking to fend off the Yankees to win the AL East.
Their final two series at home are against the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago Cubs. The Guardians are battling the Chicago White Sox for the AL Central Division. Whoever wins the division will most likely get a wild-card round bye. If they don’t, the AL West winner will. As for the Cubs, they are battling the Philadelphia Phillies for home-field advantage in the National League wild-card round.
Going into the playoffs, teams want to be playing their best baseball. That’s not the case right now for the Red Sox. However, there is still time to gain momentum going into the postseason.
Red Sox Interim Manager Chad Tracy Drops Honest Answer on Recent Struggles