Drew Rasmussen struck out 13 Red Sox hitters on Wednesday, and the Tampa Bay Rays rode that dominance to a 7-5 win that finished a three-game sweep. Boston’s offense woke up late with three homers, but by then Rasmussen had already built enough of a cushion to make the finish feel cosmetic.
The loss left the Red Sox 12 games below.500 after four straight defeats, a slide that started after they won the first game in New York on Friday night. Jake Bennett was back in the rotation after Brayan Bello was optioned to Triple-A Worcester last week, but the change did not stop the same old problems: the top four Boston hitters went 0-for-11 with 11 strikeouts and a hit by pitch against Rasmussen.
That kind of night explains why Rasmussen was the name drawing searches. He was dominant from the start, and Boston never found a way to make him pay for even the smallest mistake. Ceddanne Rafaela, Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu each struck out three times in their first three at-bats, and according to the NESN broadcast, it was the first time since 1901 that a team’s top three batters struck out in nine straight plate appearances to start a game.
The Red Sox did briefly make it interesting. Three homers turned what had looked like a lopsided game into a one-run game, and Chad Tracy said the club had been close enough to feel it. He said it hurts more when a team gets back within a run and feels one swing away, especially after the way things finished in New York and through this trip.
But the larger picture is harder to ignore. Boston entered the road trip at 16-14 away from home, then dropped four straight and was swept by Tampa Bay. June has brought a sharp drop in production, with the Red Sox averaging 3.3 runs per game and hitting.215 in eight games, and they have scored three or fewer runs in five of those eight. Their offense showed brief life in mid-May, but that stretch has not carried over into this month.
Tracy said the team will be glad for Thursday’s off day, and that fits the moment. The Red Sox now go home Friday for three games against the Texas Rangers and three against the Toronto Blue Jays, with the immediate question not about one rough night, but whether the offense can stop turning every short burst of life into another missed chance.
