Bogaerts, Red Sox Not Feeling Very Lucky
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Red Sox need a lot of things at the moment, but they could certainly use a little bit of luck on their side.
It was clear in Thursday night's 3-1 loss to the Texas Rangers that luck isn't a luxury they have at the moment.
"We're in one of those stretches where if there is an oddity to go against us, it's happening right now," manager John Farrell said after the loss.
Thursday night's oddity came on the base paths in the fifth inning. With Daniel Nava at the plate and Xander Bogaerts on first after drawing a one-out walk, Boston was hoping to cut into Texas' 3-1 lead. With the green light to steal, Bogaerts timed the delivery of Texas starter Wandy Rodriguez, and attempted to swipe second on a 2-1 count.
But Nava got a piece of the pitch and sent it between first and second base. While that normally would result in runners on the corners, this is Red Sox baseball.
The ball hit Bogaerts in the bottom of the foot, and he was ruled out. Instead of two on and one out, it was two outs and Nava on first. Sandy Leon struck out to end the inning, and with it, any hopes of Boston cutting into Texas' lead.
It's just another play that left Red Sox hitters, who are batting .218 during their 7-12 month of May, shaking their heads, wondering when they'll catch a break or two. It seems like every time they hit the ball hard it's right at a defender. Or in this case, right at a teammate.
"That was probably the game-changer," Bogaerts said of the play. "I never was aware that ball even touched me until when I came back [to the dugout] and I saw it on the video monitor. It just scratched the bottom of my cleat or something like that. I didn't know that ball hit me at all.
"That was first and third right there," he said, showing some frustration. "The baseball field is so big -- what are the chances the ball is going to hit me under my cleat? Are you kidding me? It's weird."
"We're not hitting well, regardless," a frustrated David Ortiz said after the game. "We have to start hitting at some point, right?"
Bogaerts said he doesn't think he and his teammates are pressing at the plate, and is confident they'll be able to right the ship at some point.
"It's frustrating, obviously, because you hit the ball so hard so many times and it's right at someone. Today, it was right at me," he said.
There were plenty of other missed opportunities for the Boston offense on Thursday night. They had runners on second and third with no outs in the fourth, and could only muster one run -- their only run of the game. They went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, and left five more runners on base. They finished the series 4-for-25 with runners in scoring position, and left 39 runners on base.
For May, Boston has scored just 44 runs in 19 games.
"We're getting some pitches and just missing them," said Farrell. "We just have to keep grinding."