Boston Red Sox Offense Falls Flat in Loss to Phillies

· Yahoo Sports

BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox offense continued to struggle at home, failing to capitalize on several opportunities as they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 3-1 on a rainy Thursday night at Fenway Park. 

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Struggles at home

The Red Sox' offensive problems have been well documented, but there may be no greater cause for alarm than the team's performance at Fenway Park, one of the most hitter-friendly environments in baseball. Entering Thursday's loss to Philadelphia, the Boston offense ranked in the bottom five in nearly every offensive category, including runs scored, home runs, and slugging percentage, where they rank 30th in baseball.

Thursday night's loss marked the end of a six-game homestand in which the Boston offense scored just 12 runs, hitting just .150 with runners in scoring position. They finished the week with a 2-4 record, dropping both series's to Philadelphia and Tampa. 

A game of missed opportunities

The Red Sox offense was not without chances on Thursday night as they threatened multiple times against both Phillies starter Jesus Luzardo and the Philadelphia bullpen, including in the third inning, which began with a leadoff double off the bat of catcher Carlos Narvaez.

Narvaez advanced to third thanks to a sacrifice bunt off the bat of Caleb Durbin, putting the Red Sox in prime scoring position with only one out. Second baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa failed to put together a competitive at-bat, striking out on three pitches, setting up Jarren Duran to salvage the inning. Duran, however, weakly grounded one back to Luzardo, ending the Boston threat. 

Boston would yet again miss an opportunity to score in the fourth inning when Wilyer Abreu was picked off of first base by Luzardo after a one-out single. Immediately following Abreu's baserunning mistake, Willson Contreras ripped a double to left field, which would have set the Red Sox up with runners on second and third with only one out. 

Overall, the Red Sox went a paltry 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position in the loss, with the lone hit coming off the bat of Abreu in the bottom of the eighth inning, a single to score Andruw Monasterio. That cut the Philadelphia lead to two at 3-1.

"We had our chances for sure," interim manager Chad Tracy said after the game, "we had a couple chances for a two out hit, and we had a couple chances with a man at third and less than two, four seperate opportunities to grab a lead there...0-0 ballgame late so youre trying to play the zero game with them and see if you can strike first." he continued. 

The Red Sox will hit the road for a six-game road trip beginning on Friday night in Atlanta, taking on the Braves. Connelly Early gets the start for Boston opposite Spencer Strider for Atlanta. First pitch from Truist Park set for 7:15 p.m. ET.

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