The Red Sox pitching is good enough to win. The offense isn't.

"The Red Sox are 18-26, dead last in the AL East, nine games behind Tampa Bay with May not even over. By every measure that matters in the standings, this team is a disappointment. But watch the actual games and something doesn't add up. Even with Garrett Crochet on the IL, the rest of the rotation has been effective. The bullpen has been one of the quiet success stories of the first two months. The defense is better. Chad Tracy hasn't lost the clubhouse."

"And yet the Red Sox are 18-26 because the offense has been absolutely allergic to doing anything-aka scoring runs-when it matters. This pitching staff is getting buried under all this offensive misery, and it shouldn't be. Garrett Crochet is still a pig. He's doing side sessions and working his way back from left shoulder inflammation, and the rotation does in fact miss him. But even without the ace, these starters have held this team together in games all season, and this week gave you two of the starkest examples of what that actually looks like."

"On Wednesday, Sonny Gray came back from his own IL stint for a right hamstring strain and was dominant. Six innings, one run, two hits, six strikeouts against a Phillies lineup that had been on a tear-especially Kyle Schwarber, who's been eating every pitcher alive in baseball, basically. Gray is 4-1 on the year and has been every bit the steady workhorse the Red Sox needed him to be. Ceddanne Rafaela's pinch-hit two-run shot over the Monster bailed the offense out in the win, but Gray handed them a game they had no business losing."

"Thursday was the one that stings. Ranger Suárez, who left after eight seasons in Philadelphia to sign a five-year, $130 million deal with Boston in January, took the mound against his former team and was something else. He retired the first 11"

The Red Sox sit at 18-26 and last in the AL East, nine games behind Tampa Bay, with May not finished. Standings suggest a major disappointment, but game results show better underlying performance. The rotation has remained effective even with Garrett Crochet on the IL for left shoulder inflammation. The bullpen has been a quiet success, and defense has improved, with clubhouse stability attributed to Chad Tracy. The main issue is offense, which has struggled to score runs when it matters, burying the pitching staff. Sonny Gray returned from a hamstring strain and delivered six innings of one-run, two-hit pitching. Ceddanne Rafaela’s pinch-hit two-run homer helped secure a win. Ranger Suárez faced Philadelphia and produced a dominant start, underscoring the gap between pitching quality and offensive production.

Read at Over the Monster