C2 Sports The Boston Globe FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2019
At Yankee Stadium
Friday, 7:05 p.m.
NESN, WEEI-FM (93.7)
W-L ERA
LHP Eduardo Rodriguez 13-4 4.13
LHP James Paxton 5-6 4.72
Saturday, 1:05 p.m.
NESN, FS1, WEEI-FM (93.7)
W-L ERA
LHP Chris Sale 5-10 4.26
RHP Domingo German 13-2 4.08
Saturday,7:0 5 p.m.
NESN, WEEI-FM (93.7)
W-L ERA
LHP Brian Johnson 1-1 6.43
TBA
Sunday, 7:05 p.m.
ESPN, WEEI-FM (93.7)
W-L ERA
LHP David Price 7-4 3.86
LHP J.A. Happ 8-6 5.19
Head to head:This is the fifth of
six series. The Red Sox are 4-7
against the Yankees, including 1-4
at Yankee Stadium.
Miscellany:New York’s pitchers
are tied for the fourth-highest
HR/9 rate in the majors with 1.6... Entering Thursday, DJ LeMa-
hieu (.332) — out the last four
games with a strained groin but
likely to return in the series — led
the AL in batting average by one
point over Rafael Devers.
Yankees-RedSox
seriesthumbnails
need to turn the page because
this year was just another
chapter in the same book of ex-
cellence. Then they got off to
an 11-17 start, and have stated
since how with their talent it’s
only a matter of time before
they engage their wins warp
drive.
One of the biggest obstacles
to repeating as a champion in
any sport is complacency. It’s
hard to harbor the same deter-
mination and desire to accom-
plish a task that you’ve already
accomplished. This do-nothing
trade deadline was representa-
tive of an organization that has
acted complacent from the
front office to the manager’s
office to the clubhouse. The
Sox look satisfied with winning
one World Series during a
three-year window where they
have a roster loaded with high-
end talent and in each of the
last two seasons baseball’s
highest payroll.
Despite Dombrowski’s un-
convincing claim that the Sox
were “going for it” and were
“all-in” this season, the Sox are
doing no such thing. Actions
speak louder than words in
sports, and in this case Dom-
uGASPER
Continued from Page C1
browski’s inaction spoke vol-
umes. There’s no way that the
Sox would have stood idly by,
turning up their nose at the
idea of the wild-card game, if
they hadn’t won a World Series
yet with this group. Dom-
browski would’ve auctioned
off every prospect in the farm
system to bolster the Boston
bullpen if the Sox were a team
still needing to prove they
could prevail in a playoff
round.
The urgency was baked in
for the entire organization last
season. Now, not so much.
This is the season of the Sox’
content.
Maybe, Dombrowski simply
decided the patient wasn’t
worth trying to save. The prog-
nosis was simply too dicey to
perform a talent transplant be-
yond the acquisition of fifth
starter Andrew Cashner on Ju-
ly 13.
The Sox appeared unmoti-
vated and unable to make a
deal to help this team. Mark
Feinsand of MLB.com indicat-
ed the industry isn’t as bullish
on Boston’s retooled farm sys-
tem as Dombrowski. The Sox’
minor league system isn’t bar-
ren, but it’s not fecund either,
creating the possibility of in-flated prospect value.
Trade all-or-nothing third
base prospect Bobby Dalbec
for a quality reliever? Done.
He’s blocked at third by Rafael
Devers, is a 24-year-old at Dou-
ble A, and is averaging more
than a strikeout per game.
This Sox team has what for-
mer Red Sox general manager
Theo Epstein would call a fatal
flaw — a rotating cast of clos-
ers who aren’t really closers.
That has a trickledown effect
on the reliability of the bullpen
and the team. Nothing under-
mines a team faster than un-
certainty and anxiety related
to securing those crucial final
few outs. Just ask the ’03 Red
Sox.
These Sox actually have sol-
id setup men, led by Brandon
Workman and Matt Barnes.
They just don’t have The Guy
after them or the guys preced-
ing them to consistently get to
them.
It would help if the Sox’
well-paid starting pitchers, Da-
vid Price, Chris Sale, and Rick
Porcello, could stop treating
the pitching rubber like it
emits radioactive particles if
you toe it past the fifth inning.
There were a record 30
deadline-day deals, accordingto MLB, but the Sox didn’t
make one.
I know. The Yankees didn’t
make any major additions. But
it’s maddening to see the Sox
sit on the sidelines while their
cash-strapped competition for
the second wild card, the Tam-
pa Bay Rays and the Oakland
A’s, upgraded.
The Rays and A’s, both bot-
tom-five payroll teams, smell
the eau de toilette of apathy in
Boston. Those teams also em-
ploy more ingenuity than the
Sox in finding solutions to ros-
ter holes. You can’t just throw
money at every problem,
which seems to be the message
from ownership to Dombrow-
ski.
Dombrowski is an accom-
plished and capable judge of
major league talent. He doesn’t
get enough credit for resusci-
tating the Red Sox career of
Jackie Bradley Jr. and deftly
identifying that Devers and
Andrew Benintendi were pros-
pects the Sox shouldn’t part
with even in deals for All-Stars.
But the 63-year-old Dom-
browski is not as innovative,
creative, or imaginative when
it comes to solutions as some
of the other baseball opera-
tions leaders such as BillyBeane in Oakland or Erik Ne-
ander with Tampa Bay or Chris
Antonetti in Cleveland. With
the vast resources of the Red
Sox at his disposal, Dombrow-
ski doesn’t have to find cre-
ative solutions. He hasn’t had
to in a while.
The Sox opened up the
checkbook for him and late
Detroit Tigers owner Mike Il-
itch emptied his coffers to
chase a World Series for much
of Dombrowski’s 13-year ten-
ure in Motown.
While it’s not his fault that
the albatross contracts of
Dustin Pedroia and Pablo San-
doval remain on the Sox’ com-
petitive balance tax balance
sheet, he misallocated his re-
sources this season, spending
money to retain classic rental
players Nathan Eovaldi (four
years, $68 million), a back-of-
the-rotation starter who could
claim the injured list as a place
of residence, and first baseman
Steve Pearce (one year, $6.25
million). That’s money that
should’ve been spent reinforc-
ing the bullpen.
Then Dombrowski com-
pounded it by not rectifying
the relief situation in-season.
This would be a good place
to point out that Dombrowskididn’t fix the bullpen last year,
either. He made excellent pre-
emptive moves for Eovaldi and
World Series MVP Pearce and
added second baseman Ian
Kinsler right before the dead-
line. But he dumped the bull-
pen issue into manager Alex
Cora’s lap last postseason. Cora
came up with the creative solu-
tion, the rover role, masterful-
ly navigating the land mines in
the Red Sox bullpen by supple-
menting it with the starters.
Credit Cora for that save.
You can criticize Cora for
footnoting 2018 for the first
half of this season. But you
can’t blame him for the bull-
pen and its MLB-worst save
percentage entering Thursday
(52.5).
He has done a great job jug-
gling knives and his original
“closer” — Ryan Brasier — is
now toiling at Triple A.
Whatever happens with the
Que Sera, Sera Sox the rest of
the way, they should be satis-
fied with the outcome. It looks
like they already are.Christopher L. Gasper is a
Globe columnist. He can be
reached at
[email protected]. Follow
him on Twitter @cgasper.Sox’ complacency reflected by trade deadline inaction
By Matt Porter
GLOBE STAFF
In his tenure as Red Sox
manager,AlexCorahasn’t had
too many formal team meet-
ings. They are,
in his words,
“not common
at all.”
So it is of some significance
that Cora was planning one for
Friday in the Bronx, before the
Red Sox open a four-game
weekend set with the Yankees.
“I think it’s important not
because of what people think,”
he said before Thursday’s 9-4
loss to the Rays that stretched
their losing streak to four
games. “It’s just, what’s com-
ing now.
“It’s August 1st, August
2nd, whenever we talk. It’s the
reality of where we’re at. They
know, but it’s just a reminder.
We do that most of the time,
probably in a different setting.”
One theme of the meeting,
no doubt: Time is growing
short. After Thursday’s loss,
the Red Sox have 52 games and
less than two months to earn a
playoff spot. They are 10½
games back of the AL-best Yan-
keesand 3 ½behindtheRays
and three behind Oakland for
the second wild card.
Cora wasn’t yet sure how he
planned to get his message
across.
“We’ll see,” he said. “I’ll
make it up tonight on the way
to New York.”
He had one meeting all of
last year during the regular
season, after a 5-4 win over the
Royals on May 2.MookieBetts
won that game with three
homers, and the club was 22-8
with the best record in base-
ball. Cora congratulated them
for playing well, but told them
more was needed to accom-
plish their ultimate goal.
“We meet on a daily basis to
go over pitchers,” he said
Thursday. “I use that some-
times to send a message, ‘We
need to do this better,’ or,
‘We’re doing this great, keep
going.’ But not too often.”
Has he held any previous
formal talks this year?
“I don’t know,” he said,
smiling. “I can’t remember. I’ve
got a bad memory.”
After another forgettable
loss, Cora wasn’t smiling, and
still hadn’t decided what to say.Bullpeniswhatitis
Now that the trade deadline
is past, the bullpen can seem-
ingly settle in. There is no
high-leverage arm joining the
club. Roles, if they are not al-
ready so, can be solidified.
Will that help a group
struggling for consistency?
That’s to be determined.
“We’ve had some ups and
downs this year. As a whole wehaven’t thrown exactly how we
would have liked to,”Matt
Barnessaid. “But we’ve got
two months left. We’ve got
guys on this team that are in-
credibly talented, that have
been there and done that for a
long time. I think we’ll be OK.”
Among the top options:
BrandonWorkmanhas been
the primary save option.
Barnes, pitching well of late,
can go four outs if needed.Na-
thanEovaldi, who missed three
months with an elbow injury,
said he’s feeling good again.
“I think everybody trusts in
the group,” Eovaldi said.
“Them not making any moves
shows their trust in us.”
Though righthanderHeath
Hembree’scommand has been
“off for the last two weeks,” Co-
ra said, he sounded confident
in Workman, Barnes, and
Eovaldi, and highlighted a
strong run by rookie lefthand-
erDarwinzonHernandez(zero
earned runs in eight appear-
ances since his July 16 recall).
“Webelieveinourgroup,”said
Cora. “We have our goals. Our
goal hasn’t changed. It’s to win
the World Series.
“There are different ways to
get to the World Series. Last
year we took one route and
this year we’re taking another.”Kennedybelieves
In an interview with WEEIon Thursday, Red Sox presi-
dentSamKennedydenied
ownership put the brakes on
any moves at Wednesday’s
trade deadline.
“There were some discus-
sions that involved major
league players and really rat-
tling cages and shifting things
around,” Kennedy said. “I’m
glad those didn’t happen, be-
cause I believe in the guys we
have right now.”
He expressed displeasure
with a starting rotation that
will pull in nearly $90 million
this season — “It’s frustrating,”
he said. “We made a major in-
vestment” — and said that the
group’s public accountability
only goes so far.
“I know it’s annoying for
fans and us in the front office
to hear guys say, ‘I stunk to-
night,’ but that’s all you can
do,” he said. “The improve-
ment from the 2019 Red Sox
has to come from within. It’s
gottocomefromthatclub-
house. Our players know it.”Takinghispick
Cora said he hasn’t decided
on the order of starters for Sat-
urday’s doubleheader.Chris
Saleis scheduled to take one
crack at the Yankees, and a re-
turningBrianJohnsonis set
for the other. Johnson, who
last pitched June 22 against
Toronto, was placed on the in-jured list, retroactive to June
27, for a non-baseball-related
medical matter.. .Christian
Vazquezwasn’t in the starting
lineup after taking a foul tip off
his right leg on Wednesday, but
Cora said the catcher needed a
mental break, too. “I do believe
he’s chasing pitches,” Cora
said. “Sometimes you feel you
can hit everything and start
chasing hits. I think a day away
from it is going to benefit him”
...J.D.Martinez,whoseleft
foot absorbed a foul ball
Wednesday, was “doing OK,”
Cora said, though like Vazquez,
he was “banged up”... With
lefthanderBrendanMcKayon
the mound for Tampa Bay,
JackieBradleyJr.opened the
night on the bench.Andrew
Benintendimoved to center,
withSamTravisstarting in left
...DavidOrtizis going ahead
with plans to host his annual
charity golf tournament in No-
vember, but the event — held
in the Dominican Republic for
11 years — has been moved to
Miami in the wake of Ortiz’s
June9shootinginSantoDo-
mingo. The David Ortiz Celeb-
rity Golf Classic is now set for
Nov. 21-24 at the Ritz-Carlton
Hotel and Crandon Golf at Key
Biscayne, which is close to Or-
tiz’s home.Peter Abraham of the Globe
staff contributed to this report.Cora calls meeting ahead of NY series
RED SOX
NOTEBOOK
another, and Andrew Beninten-
di went 3 for 4 with three dou-
bles. But the wild ineffective-
ness of Cashner and the bullpen
put them in too big a hole.
The Rays (63-48) became
the first team since the 1966
Orioles to win eight times at
Fenway in one year (8-1; they
are also 1-5 against the Red Sox
at Tropicana Field). They are
the second Tampa Bay team to
sweep a series of three-plus
games in Boston, the other time
coming in 2010.
“We’ve got to be better at
home,” Cora said. “We’ve got to
be better against the division,
we’ve got to be better against
everybody.”
The Red Sox (59-51), who
lost four in a row for the first
time since May 28-June 1, are
27-27 at Fenway, not including
the “home” games in London.
“Fenway’s supposed to be for
us,” Mitch Moreland lamented.
Though they were 1 for 11
with runners in scoring posi-
tion, and left seven on base
Thursday, they have scored 20
runs in their last four losses.
In other words, pitching has
been the primary issue.
Cashner (10-6) walked five
batters, tying his season high,
and allowed a season-high sev-
en runs. He struck out one bat-
ter.
“I can’t tell you the last time
uREDSOX
Continued from Page C1
I walked five guys,” said Cash-
ner, who did so May 31. It was
just the second time in his last
17 starts, dating to April 18,
that he walked more than two.
He is normally under control.
He was not Thursday.
In the bottom of the first,
Bogaerts knocked his career-
high 24th homer off starter
Brendan McKay. That erased a
1-0 Tampa lead, which came on
Austin Meadows’s RBI topper
up the first base line.
Bogaerts, on a seven-gamehitting streak, hit a pair of ding-
ers last Thursday against the
Yankees. Those were his only
two in his previous 14 games.
But Cashner gave it back in a
three-run second. He loaded
the bags with two walks and a
single, then walked in a run.
Another scored on a passed
ball, when Cashner crossed up
catcher Sandy Leon with a slid-
er when he seemed to be ex-
pecting a fastball. Tommy
Pham doubled in another off
the center field wall, Beninten-di making a strong throw to cut
down a plodding Ji-Man Choi
at the plate.
In the fifth inning, Bogaerts
tagged McKay (5‚ innings,
seven hits, three earned runs,
seven strikeouts) again, lacing a
94-mile-per-hour fastball off a
light tower in left. That made it
4-3.
“You’ve got to go out there
and shut them down. I just
didn’t do it,” said Cashner, who
put two on in the sixth, and al-
lowed a run when Bogaerts andMichael Chavis couldn’t turn a
double play. “It’s tough. I tried
to give us a chance to win. I
didn’t do that.”
With two down in the in-
ning, Darwinzon Hernandez re-
lieved Cashner and threw a
run-scoring wild pitch to make
it 6-3, walked a batter with an-
other wild pitch, and Choi
knocked in the seventh Rays
run by slicing a double between
Moreland and the first base
bag.
In the seventh, Mookie Betts
made it 7-4 with an opposite-
field homer, his 19th, putting it
just past the right-field foul
pole. Bogaerts poked his 37th
double of the year down the
right-field line, but J.D. Marti-
nez (three strikeouts) whiffed
to end the inning.
The bullpen continued to
keep it out of reach. Light-hit-
ting Tampa catcher Mike Zuni-
no homered in the eighth off
Colton Brewer. Meadows went
deep in the ninth off Heath
Hembree, who left the mound
shaking his pitching arm.
Last week’s success against
the Yankees, Benintendi said,
showed “a little glimpse” of the
club’s prowess.
If the Red Sox don’t show
more than that this weekend,
the picture of this season might
soon become crystal clear.Follow Matt Porter on Twitter
at @mattyportsBARRY CHIN/GLOBE STAFF
Mookie Betts heads back to the dugout after striking out swinging in the ninth.At Fenway Park
TAMPA BAYChoi 1b AB R H BI BB SO Avg.2 1 1 1 3 0 .265
Phamlf 502200.275
Meadows rf 511101 .287
Duffy3b 501100 .294
Kiermaier cfAguilardh 500001322020 .247.667
Sogard 2b 4 2 2 0 1 1 .300
Zunino c 3 2 2 1 2 0 .172
AdamesssTotals 36912784411101 .238
BOSTONBetts rf AB R H BI BB SO Avg.5 2 2 1 0 1 .289
Devers 3b 500001 .327
Bogaerts ss 4 2 4 3 0 0 .317
MarBenintendicf 403000tinezdh 300013 .295.286
Travis lf 401001 .281
Moreland 1b 400003 .225
Chavis2b 400003 .260
León cTotals 37 4 10 4 1 134 0 0 0 0 1 .197
Tampa Bay.......................130 003 011 — 9 12 0
Boston...............................200 010 100 — 4 10 0
LOB—Tampa Bay 8, Boston 7.2B—Choi (12),
Pham 2 (20), Sogard (18), Bogaerts (37), Benin-tendi 3 (31).HR—Meadows (17), off Hembree, Zu-
nino (6), off Brewer, Betts (19), off Drake, Bo-
gaerts 2 (25), off McKay, off McKay.Runners left
in scoring positionDuffy, Zunino), Boston 4 (Martinez, Chavis 2,—Tampa Bay 5 (Meadows 3,
León).RISP—TampaBay 3 for11,Boston 1 for 1 1.
Runners moved up—Meadows 2, Travis, More-
land.GIDP—Choi, Adames.DP—Boston 2 (Bo-
gaerts, Moreland), (Chavis, Devers, Moreland).
Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
McKayW2-1 5‚73317904.38
Drake 1„ 2 1 1 0 3 26 4.39AndersonPagán (^11000214) 1 0 0 0 0 1 14 2.000.00
Boston IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Cashner L 10-6 5„777511104.51
Hernandez ‚10011152.25
Brewer 221111324.40
Hembree 121111274.06
Inherited runners-scored—Drake 1-0, Hernan-
dez 2-2.WP—Hernandez 2.PB—León.Umpires—
Home, Mike Winters; First, Rob Drake; Second,Tim Timmons; Third, Sean Barber.T—3:20.
A—37,225 (37,755).
HOW THE RUNS SCORED
FIRST INNING
RAYS — Choi doubled to left. Pham grounded
outChoi to third. Duffy hit an infield single to first,toshort.Meadowsgroundedouttosecond,
Choi scored. Kiermaier grounded out to first.
RED SOX — Betts singled to right. Devers
struck out. Bogaerts homered to left, Betts
scored. Martinez walked. Benintendi flied out tocenter. Travis struck out.
SECOND INNING
RAYS — Aguilar walked. Sogard singled to
right, Aguilar to second. Zunino walked, Aguilar
to third, Sogard to second. Adames struck out.
Choi walked, Aguilar scored, Sogard to third, Zu-
nino to second. On passed ball, Sogard scored,Zunino to third, Choi to second. Pham doubled to
center, Zunino scored, Choi out advancing, cen-
ter to second to catcher. Meadows grounded out
to first.
FIFTH INNING
grounded out to first. Bogaerts homered to left.RED SOX — Betts flied out to center. Devers
Martinez struck out.
SIXTH INNING
RAYS — Kiermaier lined out to center. Aguilar
singled to left. Sogard doubled to right, Aguilar to
third. Zunino walked. Adames grounded intofielder’s choice, short to second, Aguilar scored,
Sogard to third, Zunino out. Hernandez pitching.
On wild pitch, Sogard scored, Adames to second.
Choi walked. On wild pitch, Adames to third.
Pham doubled to right, Adames scored, Choi tothird. Meadows struck out.
SEVENTH INNING
RED SOX — León struck out. Betts homered to
right. Devers grounded out to short. Bogaerts hit
a ground-rule double to right. Martinez struck
out.
EIGHTH INNING
singled to left. Choi grounded into a double play,RAYS — Zunino homered to center. Adames
second to third to first, Adames out. Pham
grounded out to third.
NINTH INNING
RAYS — Meadows homered to right. Duffy
grounded out to third. Kiermaier struck out. Agui-lar singled to left. Sogard walked, Aguilar to sec-
ond. Zunino flied out to left.
Rays 9, Red Sox 4
UnarmedSoxsweptathomebyRays