Among everything else, the Red Sox lack urgency

This past Memorial Day Weekend - a traditional check-in point for teams during the MLB season - should have been a seminal weekend for the Boston Red Sox. With the unofficial start of summer and the Celtics eliminated for the first time in four years, it was set up for a team that drew plenty of praise for its offseason moves to make a statement. 

Not only that, the schedule worked in the Sox’s favor. They began the weekend with a four-game series at Fenway Park against a floundering Orioles team, then had ace Garrett Crochet throwing on Monday.

Things started out on the right foot. The offense exploded Friday afternoon with a 13-run eighth inning in a 19-5 win. That was sparked by designated hitter Rafael Devers, who hit two home runs and drove in eight RBIs. 

Alex Bregman suffered his quad injury in that game, obviously putting a damper on things. But less than 24 hours later there was more to engage with the fanbase as shortstop Marcelo Mayer - the highest-drafted position player in the history of the franchise - was called up to make his Major League debut. 

Inferior divisional opponent, star prospect called up, offense rolling, ace on the way. The stage was set for this aggressively .500 team to prove some of the offseason hype right and launch a playoff race for the summer.

Instead the Red Sox left the weekend short of what’s become their level mark of .500, at 27-29. After eking out a one-run extra innings win in the second game of that Orioles series the bats went quiet. They managed just one run each in the two final games against an O’s pitching staff that has the highest ERA in the American League this season (5.45), losing those games 2-1 and 5-1. Then to kick off their road trip on Monday the offense again came up short, wasting another gem of a start from Crochet. 

Among all their other issues one constant felt apparent throughout the weekend - this Red Sox team lacks urgency.

That lack of urgency includes the team deciding which players are on the roster. Despite performance questions from multiple players in the infield the Red Sox did not call up Mayer until Bregman’s injury forced their hand. It’s still very early but after going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in his debut Mayer has responded with hits in his last two games, without any strikeouts. 

If Mayer continues to put together professional at-bats in a lineup that needs them, it should put more pressure on the front office to bring Roman Anthony, the third of the ‘Big Three’ prospects, up to the Majors. Anthony has been the highest-ranked prospect of the three (Mayer and Kristian Campbell) since the start of the season. 

The lack of urgency also exists at the game-to-game level. Following Monday’s loss there were numerous questions about how Alex Cora has handled filling the third spot in the lineup vacated by Bregman’s injury. That role went to Rob Refsnyder as a platoon player when the Red Sox faced a lefty starter. The other two Orioles games saw Wilyer Abreu hit third - putting three lefties in a row at the top of the lineup. Catcher Carlos Narvaez was moved to the third spot on Monday to break up the lefties. 

Over those four games, the batter starting the game in the third spot is a combined 2-for-13. Further highlighting the Red Sox’s lack of a right-handed bat was the fact that by moving Navarez up in the lineup on Monday then pinch-running for him, backup catcher Connor Wong - who is hitting .146 this season - was forced to bat in a key moment late in the game. 

Some of this is beyond the Red Sox’s control. Injuries are a part of sports. But the lack of right-handed hitters who can hit at the top of the lineup was an issue apparent in the winter that went under-addressed. 

Whether it be the roster construction or lineup construction, the Red Sox decision-makers seemingly have not been as flexible as they could be at key points over the past few months. That lack of flexibility is compounding their injury issues right now. 

Then there’s the play-to-play lack of urgency, especially at the plate. Situationally, the Red Sox have been one of the worst teams in baseball this year, and it showed up big over the weekend.

Following their 19-run explosion on Friday the Red Sox went 4-for-27 (a .148 batting average) with runners in scoring position over the next four games. That follows the trend of the season - entering play on Monday the Red Sox have left the sixth-most runners on base in the league this season, averaging 7.29 per game. 

Their .240 team batting average with runners in scoring position ranks 21st, but the more troubling number is the league-high 143 strikeouts in those situations. Not only are the Red Sox not hitting the ball with runners in scoring position, they’re struggling to make productive outs. 

That manifested over the weekend, especially in Monday's game when the bats went quiet at key points. In both the second and third innings the Red Sox had two runners on with one out, and both times not only failed to score but failed to get the ball out of the infield. Despite that they were still in things late and had a chance to mount a comeback, but grounded into double plays to end the seventh and eighth innings.

It was another example of the Red Sox wasting a start from Crochet, who has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this year. Despite his 2.04 ERA and 1.06 WHIP over 75 innings in 12 starts, the Red Sox are just 6-6 in games he pitches.

On the mound there’s a case to be made that the Red Sox are not being aggressive enough with their starting pitchers going late in games. Only the White Sox and Rangers have had more losses credited to their bullpen than the Red Sox (12), who are also tied with the White Sox, A’s, Cardinals, and Pirates for most blown saves (11).

This has led to the Red Sox struggling in close games. So far this season the team is 6-14 in one-run games, giving them the most one-run losses by any team this season. It’s just the fourth time in franchise history the Red Sox have lost 14 or more one-run games through their first 56 games of the season, and first since 1966.

The crazy thing is though that despite all of that, the Red Sox are not out of things. Baseball’s expanded playoff format with the third Wild Card team in each league means teams remain in the playoff hunt even if they hover around .500, especially in this year's weak American League. Last year's Red Sox, who were exactly .500 at the end of the season, finished just five games out of the final playoff spot.

Entering play on Tuesday the Red Sox are just 2.5 games out of the final playoff spot in the AL. If they continue to hover around .500, they should remain in the chase throughout the summer. 

That alone should be enough reason for the Red Sox to show more urgency. Coming off of a weekend and holiday check-in that saw many write them off, they’re actually still very much in the mix. Will they play with the urgency of a team that is actually poised to make a run? 

Not everybody on the team is resigned to the team continuing to ping-pong around the same number of wins and losses. “I’m tired of losing, tired of losing close games,” Refsnyder said after the loss on Monday. “We just need to figure it out and win some games. Bottom line.”

“It’s not for a lack of effort or work ethic, game-planning. We’re just not doing it," he continued. "We suck right now. We’ve just got to be better.”