Three takeaways from Red Sox’ 5-1 loss to Rays: Nathan Eovaldi can’t carry this team alone

Eleven games into the 60-game season and the conversation has already started shifting to bringing up the prospects.

How could it not?

The Red Sox fell to the Rays, 5-1, on Tuesday and moved to 3-8 on the season. They’ve been beaten up by the Orioles, Yankees and now the Rays.

Here are the three takeaways from Tuesday’s game:

1. Nathan Eovaldi can’t save the Sox

Eovaldi had everything working for three strong innings against his former club, then it fell apart quickly.

It happened on a single pitch.

With two outs in the fourth, Eovaldi appeared to strike out Yoshi Tsutsugo with a fastball on the inside part of the plate, but with Christian Vazquez waiting for the pitch on the opposite side, the umpire didn’t give Eovaldi call and Tsutsugo took first base on the free pass.

Eovaldi looked stunned. And while he rarely loses composure on the mound, it’s fair to wonder if that pitch ruined his night.

Joey Wendle singled behind Tsutsugo and Hunter Renfroe smashed a double to right-center as the Rays took a 2-1 lead and never lost it.

While Eovaldi’s command was sharp early, it fell off after the walk to Tsutsugo. His splitter wasn’t working. His fastballs were left over the plate and he never looked in control of the at-bats.

After allowing two more runs in the fifth, Eovaldi departed. His final line: five innings, four runs, six hits, one walk and six strikeouts. He has a 3.94 ERA after three starts this year, and the Sox have won two of them.

But with Eovaldi their only consistent starting pitcher, it’s been difficult for the Sox to get in any kind of rhythm.

Is Eovaldi a true ace? That’s also a question. He’s never been an ace before and has been thrusted into the role this season as the Sox are without Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez.

Eovaldi doesn’t pitch deep into games with any regularity and is a constant injury risk. He’s looking solid through three starts, but isn’t doing enough to carry the Red Sox on his back.

2. J.D. Martinez is slowly getting it together

Martinez whiffed on a curveball at a terrible time in the eighth inning, when the Sox had two runners on and one out as they attempted a rally.

He appeared to guess wrong on the curve. Guessing the pitch sequences has been harder than ever for Martinez, who makes it known he relies on video replay that he no longer has access to during the games.

But he was 2-for-4 in the game with a double and he’s up to .250 on the season.

The Sox have struggled without their best hitter looking sharp, and they’ll need Martinez for any hope at a miracle run this season.

3. Mitch Moreland has to play

Moreland is always a fast starter, and it’s no different this year. He saw Charlie Morton’s breaking ball better than anyone in this game and made it clear in the second inning, when he timed up a curve perfectly and smashed it to right field for a solo home run.

It was Moreland’s third homer this season. And he’s barely played. Splitting time with Michael Chavis at first base, Moreland is a platoon player only. And when the Sox are running into left-handed pitchers, Moreland sits.

Chavis pinch-hit for Moreland in the sixth inning when the Rays brought in a left-hander, and Chavis was predictably retired.

The youngster is struggling at the dish and looks out-matched by everybody early in the year. The Sox need Chavis as a key piece of their future, but in a 60-game sprint, it’s a bad look to take the bat out of Moreland’s hand, even against a left-hander.

The Sox simply don’t have enough hitters who are impacting the baseball right now.

Jose Peraza struck out with the bases loaded in the ninth inning. Behind him, the ice-cold Andrew Benintendi couldn’t come through either. He struck out looking at a breaking ball on the outside part of the plate to leave three runners on base to end the game.

Benintendi went 0-for-5 in the game and is just 2-for-29 on the season. He’s over-swinging on breaking balls and continues to end up falling to one knee after whiffing, a sign that his timing is far from being on-point.

The Sox are desperate for offense at this point. They’re desperate for pitching, too. And soon, it’ll be time for the prospects to show what they got.

This season is looking close to over for the local nine.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/31kPPf5