Red Sox
-
Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela ought to be considered for AL Rookie of the Year, says Alex Cora
The Red Sox’s problems against left-handers this season are well documentedand so they didn't fare significantly better than usual against the Royals on Friday night.
Kansas City's left-handed starter Cole Ragans went seven full innings without much trouble. He allowed just 4 hits and one run on this game. Seven of Boston's batters left the dugout hitless, including Jarren Duran, Tyler O'Neill and Connor Wong.
This, together with the proven fact that Kansas City's offense got rolling early, allowed the Royals to simply win 6-1.
The Red Sox lineup relies heavily on left-handed hitters to play an offensive role, but one in every of Boston's biggest weaknesses throughout the season was the dearth of a solid right-handed hitter to counteract the left-handed hitters.
“We just have to find a way to do it,” Alex Cora told reporters after the loss. “We just have to keep working. Today we changed the lineup, [Rob Refsnyder] got on base twice. So we just have to be patient and keep working.”
On Thursday, Red Sox hitting coach Pete Fatse discussed a few of those problems against left-handers. Like Cora, he isn't panicking in regards to the lack of performance, but he acknowledges that improvements are needed.
“Some of our best offensive players are left-handed and right-handed, so you can't ignore that equivalency plays a role,” Fatse said. “Ultimately, for us, it's about finding solutions and making sure our left-handers and right-handers are prepared every night. … The performance is there, it's just about finding the balance.”
That encouragement didn't do much for the Red Sox on Friday night, but there's still time to show things around in that area.
Boston will look to even the series on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. Eastern Time against right-hander Seth Lugo.
image credit : www.boston.com