Weekly Red Sox Report: July 24

By Adam Lowenstein (@StatsAdam)

Kyle Gibson stalled the otherwise-hot Red Sox offense on Friday, and Boston's injured bullpen hurt them on Saturday. John Farrell gave Clay Buchholz possibly one of his last shots for a while in Saturday’s loss, and he allowed three runs in just an inning.

Newly-acquired Brad Ziegler, now the team’s closer due to all the injuries, has yet to record a save with the team, but has thrown 4.2 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit.

Also, we will have a bit of a different look from my Red Sox articles moving forward. I hope you enjoy our three up and three down.

THREE UP

SP Eduardo Rodriguez was called up a week ago, and his stock is definitely rising. On Friday, he matched his second-most strikeouts in a MLB game, as he was a hard-luck loser with eight K’s in 5.1 innings of two-run ball against the visiting Minnesota Twins. Although the Twins strike out among the most in the league, the eight strikeouts are five more than Rodriguez had combined in his previous two starts.

Rodriguez is still searching for his first home win in 2016 after having six decisions go in his favor at Fenway Park last season. The 23-year-old did win his second game of the season on July 16, as he threw seven innings of one run-ball at Yankee Stadium in a 5-2 Red Sox win.

Rodriguez will take on the Detroit Tigers next Wednesday when Boston’s nine-game homestand ends.

Weekly Red Sox Hitter Notes: June 28

It may be a small sample size, but catcher Sandy Leon  has been mashing for the Red Sox at the plate.

By Adam Lowenstein (@StatsAdam)

Ed. Note- Now that summer is here, we're brining back our weekly look at how each of Boston's position players are contributing offensively. Each week, our resident stat guru Adam Lowenstein will break down who's trending up, who's spiraling down, and how it will affect the Red Sox.

Losers of their previous two series, the Red Sox close out June with a three-game series against the struggling Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. However, just like Clay Buchholz, Eduardo Rodriguez continued to struggle in the first inning on Monday. John Farrell tried to keep the newest Pawtucket Red Sox player in the game as long as possible, but E-Rod became the main reason for the Rays setting a new season high in hits.

RF Mookie Betts continues to lead off games well, but his on-base percentage took a dip in Monday’s blowout at the hands of the Rays. His five-game hitting streak ended in the 13-6 loss, as he went 0-for-5, including two unsuccessful at-bats with runners in scoring position. However, he is not a person to worry about, as he readies to start his first All-Star Game.

Bob Lobel: The Red Sox Season Mercifully Coming to a Close

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

The magic number is into single digits. 

It has to be…

Weekly Red Sox Hitter Notes: July 28th

Pablo Sandoval broke out of a slump over the weekend to record back-to-back multi-hit games.

By Adam Lowenstein (@StatsAdam)

After seeing how Joe Kelly pitched on Monday, this looks to be a very up-hill climb for the Red Sox. With the team scoring eight runs against the Chicago White Sox, just after plating 11 on Sunday in the rubber match win over the Detroit Tigers, Boston should be winning more games.

If the offense can continue to be consistent, then the pitching needs to hold up its end of the bargain.

Weekly Red Sox Hitter Notes: July 22

By Adam Lowenstein (@StatsAdam)

Well, those Los Angeles run totals escalated quickly at Angel Stadium on Monday.

The Angels scored the first seven runs of the first game of the doubleheader, en route to their 11-1 victory. Then, later in the evening, Albert Pujols and Mike Trout led the way to six straight Angel runs before the Red Sox scored in the second game.

The sweep at the hands of Los Angeles pushed Boston nine games below .500, and nine games behind the first-place New York Yankees. Boston’s horrific pitching performance against the Angels pushed the ERA of John Farrell’s squad to an American League-worst 4.45 on the season. I’m sure Cole Hamels can change all that.

Weekly Red Sox Hitter Notes: All-Star Break Edition

Utility man Brock Holt represented the Red Sox in Tuesday's MLB All-Star Game.

By Adam Lowenstein (@StatsAdam)

The Red Sox headed into Friday’s contest against the New York Yankees as winners of their last four series. However, the Red Sox allowed their rival to score first in all three games of the series. After losing two of the three contests to the Yankees, the Red Sox fell to 11-35 when their opponent has scored first this season.

With the series loss, Boston remained in last place of the American League East, two games behind the fourth-place Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles are the last team not named the Red Sox to be in last place of the division – it was June 9, the day John Farrell’s squad started a three-game set against the O’s in Baltimore, and it was the beginning of the Red Sox’s season-worst seven-game losing streak.

Bob Lobel: Pushing the Panic Button on the Red Sox

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

That, my friends, is the honest to goodness, real panic button as seen for a couple of decades on local television. 

The key to its effectiveness was minimal use. Threaten to use it frequently, but only rarely roll it out. What does qualify as an appropriate moment to use it? One would be an inordinate amount of requests for it. 

Yes, I have had an inordinate number of requests, that appear to be justified, based on the recent play of your Boston Red Sox. The real issue was the overwhelming belief that this team was, even with mediocre pitching, a playoff team. Expectations, in other words, were way off the charts. 

Now, unless something dramatic turns things around, they will very soon be the worst team in the worst division. In the power rankings they are right around 27. Here is my take on what would be a legitimate comparison to men of John Farrell.  

Bob Lobel: Grady Karma and the Sox Season to Come

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

Welcome to Fenway Park, the greatest ball park in America! 

It’s where Boston Strong went from slogan to culture. It is now the home of  “GRADY KARMA.” To get it, you have to possess some institutional knowledge that goes back to the last game the Red Sox played in 2003.