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Alex Cora knows that the Boston Red Sox are running out of time. With the Red Sox quickly falling out of the 2023 MLB playoff race, Friday's loss was the opposite of what Boston needs. The Kansas City Royals blew out the Red Sox 13-2, extending Boston's losing streak to five games. Alex Cora didn't mince words when discussing the Red Sox' uninspired play.
“We’re getting punched. We have to bounce back [Saturday],” Cora said, via The Boston Globe. “It hasn’t been easy … we have to play better baseball.”
Boston didn't simply lose against MLB's second-worst team. It got embarrassed by a team that they had to beat.
They were held scoreless until the eighth inning when the contest was long out of hand. The loss dropped Boston to 6.5 games out of the third and final AL wild-card spot. The Toronto Blue Jays, who are 1.5 games out of a wild-card berth, also stand in Boston's way.
Over the last week, the Red Sox have fallen three games further out of the playoff race. The Houston Astros swept Cora's club at Fenway Park for the first time in franchise history. Boston's downward trajectory started with Mookie Betts' return to Boston. The Los Angeles Dodgers took two out of three games from the Red Sox.
Boston's pitching has ultimately failed the team. The staff has given up at least five runs in seven straight games. Boston's rotation ranks 24th in ERA in MLB. The light-hitting Royals knocked around James Paxton for six runs in 1.1 innings Friday.
The teams will meet again at 7:10 p.m. ET Saturday.
