BOSTON -- As the Red Sox head out of town for their final road trip of the season, there is an uncomfortable feeling in the air surrounding a team that is clearly out of sync heading into the final nine games of the season.
Not long ago, a postseason appearance seemed a near certainty for Boston.
Things have become a shade or two below certain, as a 5-3 defeat Thursday at Fenway Park in the rubber match of a three-game series against the Athletics has dropped the Sox (83-71) to the third American League Wild Card spot, with the sizzling Guardians (who have won seven straight and 11 of their last 12) lurking just 1 1/2 games out of the playoff picture. Boston does hold the tiebreaker over Cleveland by virtue of winning the season series, 4-2.
Manager Alex Cora’s team starts a three-game series against the Rays on Friday night. After an off-day on Monday, Boston goes to Toronto for a three-game series before finishing the season at home with a three-game set against the Tigers.
“We control our own destiny,” said Cora. “So go to Tampa, win a series. That’s the way I see it.”
The Red Sox, after a 25-6 run at home from June 4 to Aug. 16, are 5-10 in their last 15 games at Fenway.
Going on the road might not be the worst thing at this point. The noise -- and level of panic -- can be noticeable in such a rabid baseball city.
Coming off a 5-4, walk-off win in 10 innings on Wednesday, the Sox hoped to notch their first two-game winning streak in over a week.
Instead, starting pitcher Brayan Bello lost whatever momentum that was gained the day before by giving up three runs in the top of the first on five straight hits.
Cora showed the urgency of this point of the season when he pulled Bello after four innings and 70 pitches and went to lefty Payton Tolle, Boston’s No. 2 prospect.
“Yeah, it was tough,” Cora said of Bello’s day. “Command was off. Didn't finish pitches. They put some good swings on him. He kind of found it in the fourth, but at that time, we knew we had Payton, so we went to him, and that was it.”
It was Tolle -- drafted with the 50th overall pick of the 2024 Draft -- who created the highlight reel of the day for the Sox, firing three shutout innings, allowing three hits and one unearned run, walking none and striking out four.
Tolle struck out the side in order in the fifth, capping it by blowing a searing heater by Nick Kurtz that registered at 100 mph on the Fenway Park scoreboard. Statcast’s precise measurement was 99.7.
“I think I saw it and I was like, ‘Man, I sure hope that stays 100 and not is rounded down to 99 or whatever.’ It was exciting,” said Tolle. “I got fired up about it.”
But Tolle’s performance didn’t lead to a late-game rally.
The Sox have lost three of their last four series, a stretch that started right after Roman Anthony was lost until the postseason at least with a left oblique strain. At the same time, they’ve been without right fielder Wilyer Abreu for the past month with a right calf strain. The team hopes Abreu can return at some point over the weekend.
Lack of offense is clearly the biggest problem for the Sox in this 5-8 stretch without Anthony and Abreu.
By not scoring, the pressure is mounting for a starting rotation that has been solid for most of the season. That made the quick hole Bello put his club in on Thursday feel more daunting. And as the Red Sox tried to climb back from the deficit, the typically sure-handed Trevor Story made two errors, leading to Oakland’s final two runs, which proved to be decisive.
“We spoiled the chance to get a series win today. And it's tough to win making two errors that lead to runs,” said Story, who also homered in the loss. “So that's on me.”
At the same time, Story knew it would be counterproductive to bring his regrets onto the team flight.
“Well, we know what we've done. We know we can do. We've played some of the best baseball, I feel like, all season long, over a good stretch of time. And I think that's where we get our confidence from.
“We know how good we can be, and we've proven that. But also, it's time to do it when the time is right. And that's now.”