By Emmanuel Bobby
The Boston Red Sox knew their remarkable run of success would eventually come to an end. After winning 15 consecutive games and later putting together another nine-game winning streak, Boston went on to win 35 of 43 games over a seven-week stretch, creating a surge that was nearly impossible to sustain indefinitely.
The question was never whether the streak would eventually end. It was how sharply the team would fall once the momentum disappeared.
Five games into the latest downturn, the answer has been unmistakable.
The Red Sox suffered their fifth consecutive loss Wednesday night, falling 6-4 to the Toronto Blue Jays in a game that remained within reach for most of the night before unraveling dramatically in the eighth inning.
For seven innings, Boston appeared capable of ending its losing streak. The game was tied 1-1 entering the eighth, and the Red Sox had received a strong outing from Ranger Suarez, who allowed only one run over six innings.
Willson Contreras also appeared to be breaking out of his recent slump when he hit a solo home run in the fifth inning to tie the game. Wilyer Abreu provided another highlight with an impressive defensive play that kept Boston within striking distance.
But as has been the case throughout the current losing streak, small mistakes began accumulating.
Ceddanne Rafaela made one of those mistakes earlier in the game when he attempted to advance two bases on a wild pitch. Toronto catcher Alejandro Kirk easily threw him out at third base, ending the opportunity.
Ordinarily, one mistake would not be enough to derail a team. During Boston’s extraordinary winning stretch, the Red Sox routinely made mistakes and found ways to overcome them.
On Wednesday, however, the mistakes proved far more costly.
The turning point came in the bottom of the eighth inning.
With two runners on base and nobody out, Boston reliever Tyron Guerrero managed to get Kaz Okamoto to hit what appeared to be a harmless foul pop-up. It should have been the first out of the inning and provided Guerrero with an opportunity to settle down.
Instead, Contreras was unable to make the catch.
The missed opportunity immediately changed the complexion of the inning.
Okamoto stepped back into the batter’s box and drove the very next pitch into center field. The hit broke the 1-1 tie and brought home two runs, putting Toronto ahead 3-1.
Guerrero then walked Ernie Clement, putting another runner on base and creating even more pressure. Alec Gamboa entered the game but surrendered a sacrifice fly before allowing Myles Straw to hit a damaging double.
In a matter of minutes, the Red Sox went from playing in a tied game to facing a 6-1 deficit.
The collapse was particularly frustrating because Guerrero had generally been one of Boston’s more reliable bullpen arms this season. Although he has historically struggled with command, he had displayed considerably better control during the current campaign.
Before Wednesday’s outing, he had allowed a run in only five of his first 30 appearances and had surrendered multiple runs just twice.
The Red Sox therefore had plenty of reason to believe he could work his way through the eighth inning.
Instead, the missed pop-up was followed by a string of difficult developments, and Boston was unable to recover.
The offense showed some life in the ninth inning, but the late rally was not enough.
Caleb Durbin delivered a single with runners on second and third, followed by an RBI double from Jarren Duran. The Red Sox eventually cut the deficit to two runs, but Toronto closer Louis Varland entered the game and shut down the comeback attempt.
Andruw Monasterio’s sacrifice fly produced another run, but Nick Sogard then grounded out to second base to end the game.
Boston’s performance with runners in scoring position has been a particularly troubling part of the recent skid.
Entering Wednesday’s game, the Red Sox were just 3-for-39 with runners in scoring position dating back to Saturday’s game against Oakland, when the current losing streak began.
The late hits improved that figure slightly, but the overall number remained poor. Boston’s batting average with runners in scoring position during that stretch rose only to .119.
A team that spent much of the season finding ways to manufacture runs and capitalize on opportunities has suddenly struggled to deliver when those opportunities arrive.
The defensive mistakes have also become increasingly noticeable.
Since Saturday, the Red Sox have been outscored 24-14, and a number of errors and questionable decisions have contributed to the losses.
There have been baserunning mistakes, fielding errors, missed opportunities on routine plays and bullpen struggles. Durbin has had defensive miscues, Monasterio has struggled to make plays at shortstop, and Contreras’ missed pop-up Wednesday became one of the defining moments of the latest defeat.
The bullpen has also experienced difficult moments, with Aroldis Chapman and Garrett Whitlock among the pitchers who have been involved in losses during the recent stretch.
Other pitchers have shown signs of fatigue as well, adding to the sense that Boston is searching for answers at precisely the wrong time of the season.
None of this means the Red Sox were flawless during their incredible run of success.
They were not.
Even when Boston won 32 of 37 games, the team made mistakes. The difference was that those mistakes were frequently overcome by timely hitting, strong pitching or another player stepping up at exactly the right moment.
That has not happened during the current losing streak.
Instead, mistakes that once seemed manageable have become turning points.
The latest loss also had significant implications in the standings.
With the Yankees winning in New York, Boston fell four games behind New York for the top American League wild-card position.
The Red Sox’s hopes of catching the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL East lead have also become increasingly remote. Boston now trails Tampa Bay by 10 games, making that possibility appear far less realistic than it did during the team’s prolonged winning streak.
The immediate priority is no longer chasing the division.
It is stopping the slide.
The Red Sox may simply need a chance to reset. The team had a scheduled day off last Monday, but that break came immediately after a late-night game on the West Coast and included travel back home.
Before that, Boston’s previous off day had been July 23.
The next scheduled day off does not come until Thursday, Aug. 20, meaning the club is facing an extended stretch of games with little opportunity for its players to recover.
That schedule could become increasingly important if fatigue is contributing to the defensive mistakes, bullpen struggles and offensive inconsistency that have emerged over the past five games.
Boston now faces a critical stretch in which it must find a way to regain the form that made the team one of the hottest clubs in baseball.
The question is what kind of team will emerge before the Red Sox return to Fenway Park next weekend, when Rafael Devers — and potentially Marcelo Mayer — could be part of the club’s plans for a series against the San Francisco Giants.
A lineup that has already shown an ability to produce at a high level will need to rediscover that consistency. The pitching staff will need to limit the big innings that have recently turned close games into losses. And the defense will have to eliminate the mistakes that have repeatedly extended innings and created opportunities for opponents.
The Red Sox have already demonstrated that they are capable of putting together an extraordinary run.
Now they have to prove they can stop the bleeding before this five-game losing streak becomes something much more damaging.
For the moment, Boston is searching for answers — and time is becoming increasingly valuable.
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