Red Sox continue plunge, fall into last place in AL East
BOSTON -- It has happened. The Red Sox have fallen into the basement of the AL East.
Not even the good mojo from a pregame ceremony honoring Hall of Famer David Ortiz could save the Red Sox on Tuesday night. Hopes of Boston winning two straight for the first time in over two weeks were dashed quickly, with the Sox falling into a a 5-0 hole to the Guardians by the third inning at Fenway Park. The Red Sox ultimately lost 8-3 to an injury stricken Cleveland team.
Mix that loss with a 5-3 Orioles win over the Rays, and the Red Sox now sit in last place in the division, a half-game behind Baltimore. The downward spiral continues in Boston.
The loss dropped the Red Sox to 6-16 in July, but the month has been much, much uglier than that. Boston has been outscored 157-82 in the month and the team's ERA sits at 6.69 -- the worst in Major League Baseball. They've been kicking the ball all over the field -- or throwing it errantly to first or losing it in the twilight -- and have committed 20 errors in their 22 games, which is also the worst in baseball.
The Red Sox have been a really bad baseball team in July. They've lost five of their last six games. Stretch it out a little further and they've lost 10 of their last 12. Going back even further, the Red Sox have lost 14 of their last 20.
All of that has led to Boston falling 3.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot in the American League.
Boston has five more home games to close the month -- two more against the Guardians before welcoming the Brewers to town for a three-game set. Usually a homestand is a good thing for a floundering team, but nothing has really been good for the Red Sox lately. They are just 3-8 in their last 11 games at Fenway Park.
An optimist would say the Red Sox have nowhere to go but up. But as we've seen this season, they keep finding new ways to continue their drop in the standings.
