Third straight series defeat represents much more for Red Sox

TORONTO --- The question made Xander Bogaerts grimace in disbelief.

The Red Sox had just been held without an extra-base hit in a game for the first time in almost a full calendar year. Noah Syndergaard and the Mets handcuffed Boston on Sept. 14 of last season, a rare blip on the way to a World Series title.

Both that game and Wednesday night’s against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre ended the same way – an 8-0 shutout defeat. Last year’s Boston team had [...]

TORONTO --- The question made Xander Bogaerts grimace in disbelief.

The Red Sox had just been held without an extra-base hit in a game for the first time in almost a full calendar year. Noah Syndergaard and the Mets handcuffed Boston on Sept. 14 of last season, a rare blip on the way to a World Series title.

Both that game and Wednesday night’s against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre ended the same way – an 8-0 shutout defeat. Last year’s Boston team had every right to expect a bounceback the following day. This current club sealed its third straight series loss, this one coming against a Toronto club that sits 32 games under .500.

“In a year? I wish we knew that before,” Bogaerts said, his face dropping a bit. “They pitched good.”

Jackie Bradley Jr. and Brock Holt each doubled the next afternoon against New York, a 5-3 victory at Fenway Park on Sept. 15. Holt managed one of two singles for the Red Sox on this night, and Blue Jays pitching set down 16 straight Boston hitters during one stretch. Trent Thornton faced 16 batters and allowed a lone walk, as the right-hander struck out seven and picked up the victory after being summoned in the top of the third inning.

“It’s never fun when you’re not winning,” Mitch Moreland said. “We’ve got to start over tomorrow and get back on track.”

It’s a bit reckless to suggest Bogaerts, Moreland and their teammates have stopped trying. Boston bench coach Ron Roenicke is fond of saying that most teams who can’t score runs tend to look flat, and he’s right. The Red Sox were about as energetic as the crowd of 14,463 fans under the closed roof.

But it’s certainly appropriate to wonder whether or not Boston is finally accepting its reality. The Red Sox will not be playing in October on the sport’s grandest stage while all three of their playoff opponents from a season ago – the Yankees, Astros and Dodgers – are cruising towards another shot at a championship. Los Angeles has already clinched the National League West title.

“We didn’t expect to be in this situation,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “The effort is there, but the results are not. Obviously everybody is disappointed in what’s going on.”

That feeling was a palpable one in a quiet Boston clubhouse late Wednesday night. Players shuffled out of the showers and through the main locker room, some with their heads bowed. Bogaerts was somewhat in disbelief that Toronto – a team the Red Sox blasted, 15-4, in the season series last year – had improved to 8-10 against Boston in 2019.

“Regardless of where we were in the standings, how much of a chance we had or didn’t have – all the guys on this team are good enough to collectively beat the Blue Jays,” Bogaerts said. “It hasn’t been that way these last two games. It’s been really, really rough.”

The Red Sox are now 76-70 and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has been fired. Remaining three-game series against the Giants and Orioles at Fenway Park should give Boston ample opportunity to at least finish above .500 for the fourth straight season. That hasn’t happened since a run of 14 consecutive years from 1998-2011, one ended by the Bobby Valentine disaster in 2012.

But given the way this season started, with talk of repeating as champions and a roster returning almost intact, so much more was expected. Matching and passing the 164 games with an extra-base hit enjoyed by the Red Sox from 2004-05 was just the start. Attempting to reach that mark ended Wednesday, and it feels like even more will be over soon.

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @BillKoch25