After being defeated 6-1 at Fenway, the Red Sox are now 0-30 in games where they trail by 3 runs or more. The offense continues to be inconsistent and, at times, brutally awful. 13 runners were left on base tonight as the Sox went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. An ongoing theme this season for these Boston Red Sox: the lack of power, clutch hits, and the ability to score runs. Their current offensive rankings are 29th in home runs(59), 29th in runs scored(279), 29th in RBI(268), and 24th in slugging percentage(.383). 

For a minute, let’s focus on the positives. Acquiring Willson Contreras was an amazing move. He’s been among the top hitters in the MLB this season. , slashing a .299 Avg, 16 Homer Runs, 43 RBI, a .392 OBP,  .560 SLG, and a 162 wRC+. 

Ceddanne Rafaela has been a very productive hitter for the Red Sox so far this season. Ceddanne currently has 24 XBH on the year, with 15 doubles, 2 triples, and 7 home runs. He, like Contreras, is also putting up good percentages, with a .288 Avg, .342 OBP, .453 SLG, and a 118 wRC+. 

With their efforts seemingly wasted, the Red Sox find themselves in the basement of the A.L. East, 14.5 games behind the division-leading New York Yankees, while also being 6 games back of the Athletics for the third and final wild card spot. 

One could assume that this season would be much different had the front office added more to the offense rather than pivoting to pitching and defense. The pitching has been fantastic. The Red Sox pitching staff finds itself ranked 10th in ERA (3.94), 4th in Shutouts (7), and 6th in earned runs allowed (270). But with one of the worst-ranked offenses in the league, it doesn’t matter how good your pitching and defense are. The inability to score runs, hit for power, or come up with a big hit in a key moment has killed this team. 

Can the Red Sox find a way to fix their offensive woes and turn their season around? I’m not so sure about that. It’s June 16th, and the offense has been roughly the same the entire season. They’ve had their shining moments, but more often than not, inconsistency returns, and they are back to being a bad offensive club.