Boston Red Sox: Xander Bogaerts Says Team Misses David Ortiz
After being shut out for the third time in their last seven games, the Boston Red Sox offense is sorely lacking a powerful run producer. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts believes the team's struggles stem from not having David Ortiz in the lineup.
The Boston Red Sox lineup ranks just 26th in baseball with 78 runs scored. For a team that had the most potent offense in baseball last season, it's hard to believe that the Sox have scored only 12 runs in their last seven games.
Part of that stems from a lack of consistency at the plate, but the major factor plaguing the Sox lineup is a lack of power. The entire Boston roster has hit just 11 homers to start the year. Compare that to Eric Thames of the Milwaukee Brewers, who's hit 11 home runs on his own, and the Sox's struggles are much more pressing.
Shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who hit 21 homers last season but has none this year, told CBS Boston that the team's lineup is sorely missing slugger David Ortiz.
"What's the difference? I mean, David [Ortiz] is not here," Bogaerts said after Thursday's 3-0 defeat to the New York Yankees. "He was definitely a huge part of our team for the years I was here. We definitely miss him."
But Ortiz is already far removed from his playing days, so there's no chance he'll return to the team's lineup anytime soon.
"We've got to do it without him. We're trying. We're trying to put up good at-bats and get guys on base. Having that 34 in the lineup was something opposing pitchers were definitely afraid of," Bogaerts said. "We miss him but we're going to get runs. We're going to score. We're not going to get shut out, or get one run every game. Our offense probably needs one game — 12 runs, 15 runs –like the Washington Nationals. Hopefully we can do the same as that. We'll break loose."
Boston is second in the American League with a .266 batting average and fifth with a .331 OBP, so the team's lineup has some hope to improve in the near future. In a reversal of past seasons, the Red Sox pitching staff has been solid over the past week with Chris Sale proving to still be among the best pitchers in the AL.
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With Dustin Pedroia back in the lineup, Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi both hitting over .300 and Mitch Moreland proving to be a solid offseason addition, Boston has the pieces to start putting up runs in droves. A power surge from Hanley Ramirez and a return to the Sandy Leon of last season would help, too.
If the Red Sox offense doesn't improve soon, a trade for a slugger will likely happen before the summer.
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