Fastball

Boston Red Sox Pitching Staff on the Wrong Side of Team History Recently

The Boston Red Sox saw their playoff hopes take a hit on Thursday with a loss to the Baltimore Orioles, and it's the Sox pitching that has failed them during the team's recent slide.

Brady Farkas

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Tanner Houck (89) pitches against the Houston Astros during the first inning at Fenway Park on Aug 9.
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Tanner Houck (89) pitches against the Houston Astros during the first inning at Fenway Park on Aug 9. / Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
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The Boston Red Sox suffered a big loss on Thursday night, falling 5-1 to the Baltimore Orioles. With the loss, Boston is now 63-57 on the season. With 42 games left to play are now 2.5 games back of the Kansas City Royals in the battle for the third and final wild card spot in the American League.

The Sox have struggled since the All-Star break, with the pitching staff being the biggest culprit. The team has been besieged by injuries all season long on that front with Lucas Giolito and Garrett Whitlock out for the season. Furthermore, Nick Pivetta and Bryan Bello have each spent time on the injured list. The bullpen has seen its share of attrition as well, and the team can't keep the ball in the yard.

Heading into the game on Thursday, the Sox were on the undesirable side of some poor team history.

Per @OptaSTATS:

Since the All-Star break, the Boston Red Sox have allowed 52 home runs in 24 games, 12 more than any other MLB team in that time.

The 52 homers are the most HR allowed by Boston in any 24-game span in team history.

And the Sox allowed two more homers in the Thursday loss, with blasts coming from Gunnar Henderson and Cedric Mullins.

The Red Sox are in the midst of a very tough stretch in which they will see the Orioles for four games this weekend and the Houston Astros next week.

First pitch on Friday night is set for 7:05 p.m. ET as Cooper Criswell (SOX) pitches against Corbin Burnes (BAL).

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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