Boston Red Sox pitcher Rich Hill was designated for assignment on Friday, and manager Alex Cora called out the Red Sox after their fifth consecutive loss. After an 8-3 loss to the New York Mets on Wednesday, Boston will turn to right-handed pitcher Luis Guerrero from Triple-A Worcester, according to Boston Herald’s Mac Cerullo.
“The Red Sox announce they’ve selected RHP Luis Guerrero to the active Major League roster from Triple-A Worcester,” he said. “He will wear number 99. To make room, the club designated LHP Rich Hill for assignment.”
After losing the last two out of three games to the Detroit Tigers, the Red Sox were swept by the Mets in their three-game series to close out their six-game road trip and have now lost six of their previous seven games, dating back to August 29.
Cora addressed his team, which finished its six-game road trip with a 1-5 record, per NESN.com’s Greg Dudek.
“It sucked, man. It was tough,” Cora said. “We went to Detroit two-and-a-half games back or three-and-a-half games back, and now we’re five-and-a-half. Right now, we’re just an average team. We got to show up on Friday and try to be better. It’s a huge homestand.”
Red Sox trailing Royals, Tigers, Mariners in AL Wild Card race
The Red Sox (70-70) are running out of time to catch the Kansas City Royals (76-65) in the AL Wild Card race. Losing two out of three against the Tigers (71-70) gave Detroit a slight edge over the Red Sox in the standings. Boston is now trailing with the Mariners (71-70) behind the Royals by an even five games.
Perhaps some home cooking against one of the worst regular-season baseball teams in recent history, the Chicago White Sox, should suffice as the appropriate remedy for Rafael Devers and the Red Sox’s recent struggles. Devers, who finished the six-game road trip 1-for-24, earned his first RBI off a sac-fly in Wednesday’s loss but is still amidst his biggest slump of 2024.
Still, Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who referred to his baseball team as the .500 club it succumbed to, understands that only change from within will help his team win and increase its chances of reaching the postseason, starting with a phenomenal five-game homestand to get things going.
“We’re a .500 team. We’re playing .500 baseball. I don’t think that’s good enough,” Cora said. “We got to be better.”
The Red Sox begin their three-game series against the White Sox on Friday at Fenway Park.