When you’re the best offense in baseball, it is a newsworthy occasion when you fail to score even a single run in a contest. The Boston Red Sox, who lead the majors in runs scored (677) and wRC+ (113), were shut out yesterday by the combined power of five pitchers from the Tampa Bay Rays, including four one-hit innings from former Boston prospect Jalen Beeks.
Losing without scoring is a frustrating way to be handed a loss, but the Red Sox are fortunate to not have dealt with that much this season. Including Sunday’s game, they have been shut out a total of five times. Before yesterday, the last time it happened was on July 21. In that game against the Detroit Tigers, Mike Fiers fired seven scoreless innings and old pal Jose Iglesias drove in four runs as part of a 5-0 triumph. The Sox were also shutout in 1-0 decisions by the Seattle Mariners on June 16 and the Chicago White Sox on June 8.
The first shutout the Red Sox suffered this season was the one that will be remembered for years to come, especially if you are a fan of the Oakland A’s or at least a member of Sean Manea’s family. Oakland’s lefty ace did the seemingly impossible on April 21, tossing a no-hitter against a Boston team that entered the day sporting a 17-2 record.
The Red Sox will begin a pretty high-profile series against Cleveland tonight, and considering they will face Corey Kluber, a shutout could happen again. Its unlikely though. After all, the Red Sox have averaged 5.75 runs per game the day after being shut out this season, including a pair of nine-run efforts. Kluber better be careful because lightning, or in this case shutouts, don’t usually strike twice against these Red Sox.
Speaking of bad news, Chris Sale is going back on the shelf. (Matthew Kory; The Athletic) ($$)
The Rays have been experimenting with their pitching this year and it clearly worked on Sunday. (Peter Abraham; Boston Globe)
MLB Twitter was on its trolling A game this weekend. (Evan Drellich; NBC Sports)
Nathan Eovaldi hasn’t been in Boston long but he already know what’s good. (Chad Jennings; The Athletic) ($$)
Playing Cleveland will make for October in August. (Michael Silverman; Boston Herald)