Red Sox Lefty Hurler Hits Injured List In Latest Blow To Struggling Bullpen

The hits just keep on coming for the Boston pitching staff...

Jun 5, 2019; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of ball bags on the field during warm ups before a game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Not much has gone right for the Boston Red Sox pitching staff in the second half of the season, and that trend doesn't appear to be stopping anytime soon.

With the worst bullpen ERA and the second-worst overall ERA since the All-Star break, the Red Sox have been leaking oil. It's contributed to the team's steady fall out of the American League playoff race, and injuries have played a key part.

The Boston pitching staff was thin at the beginning of the year, and it's still thin now. Wednesday, the depth of the floundering Red Sox bullpen took yet another hit.

According to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, left-handed relief pitcher Brennan Bernardino will be placed on the injured list with "elbow discomfort," while the Red Sox will activate fellow lefty Cam Booser.

Speier said in the announcement, posted to X, that manager Alex Cora said an MRI revealed Bernardino had "some stuff in there," referring to his pitching elbow.

It's just the latest tough break for a Red Sox bullpen that has steadily eroded all second half. Trade deadline acquisitions Luis Garcia and Lucas Sims have both been on the IL all of September, while reliable righties Chris Martin and Justin Slaten missed extensive time after the All-Star break.

Bernardino, 32, was fantastic for the first three months of the season, but struggled for the next three, posting a 1.20 ERA in his first 29 appearances, then an 8.14 in his next 28. His season ERA has settled at a mediocre 4.06.

However much he may have been struggling, Bernardino remained a fixture of Cora's gameplan, the only lefty on the entire pitching staff for much of the season. Booser figures to take over the role Bernardino had been playing, facing tough pockets of lefties in late-game scenarios.

Perhaps Booser will be called upon in a big spot in Wednesday night's series finale against the Baltimore Orioles. And the Red Sox will need him to get the job done, because every loss at this point could be the dagger for their fleeting playoff hopes.

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