Boston Red Sox
They’re 0-21 when trailing after seven innings.
Trevor Story is hitting .203 on the season. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
May 13, 2026 | 4:13 PM
5 minutes to read
Early in the spring, it felt as though the Red Sox were a slightly above average team that was underachieving and not playing to its potential.
Now, a quarter of the way into what could be a long and monotonous season in Boston, it’s abundantly clear they’re a slightly below average team playing at the level one would expect given the construction of the roster.
It’s only mid-May, and there’s plenty of time for the Red Sox (17-24) to avoid stumbling to another last-place finish. At the same time, there’s enough of a sample size to say with conviction that this roster has obvious holes.
With that in mind, here are 10 stats (as of Wednesday afternoon) to help contextualize the rocky start:
1) They’ve hit just 29 home runs.
The No. 1 flaw with this lineup is that the Red Sox don’t have a true home-run hitter to compensate for their other deficiencies. Willson Contreras has eight and Wilyer Abreu six, but outside of that, no one has more than four.
The Red Sox have 29 as a team, placing them, fittingly, 29th in Major League Baseball. The Brewers are the only team below them, which proves it’s possible to win without home runs; that, however, requires excelling in other areas, which the Red Sox certainly are not.
Boston has hit just nine home runs at home, which is the fewest in baseball. The Red Sox are also second-to-last in slugging percentage (.350) and third-to-last in OPS (.663).
Home ballpark home runs 2026
1. NYY 37
2. PHI 34
3. CIN 31
4. SEA, Cubs 29
30. Red Sox 9
Boston’s wRC+ in its home park is 67, which ranks 30th of 30 teams.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) May 13, 2026
2) They’re 3-17 when their opponent scores first.
You may see a theme here. The way this team is built, there’s an immense amount of pressure on the starting pitcher to be brilliant to give the team any chance.
It’s one thing to ask your starter to go six innings and allow three runs; it’s another to ask him to be nearly perfect. This team is consistently doing the latter, and the starters have shined in stretches, but the lineup isn’t doing its part to punch back.
Tuesday’s game was a prime example. The Phillies scored one in the first and one in the second. While that’s not ideal for any team, it shouldn’t be insurmountable, yet it often is for this club. The Red Sox scored one in the seventh, but that was it (despite a near blast from Abreu) as they fell flat again.
They’re 5-18 when scoring fewer than four runs, which illuminates that the margin for error is quite small.
3) They’re 0-21 when trailing after seven innings.
This one is an extension of the previous one. The late-game magic that has defined some of the most successful and captivating Red Sox teams this millennium is noticeably absent from this group.
Outside of Abreu, there’s no one you really have faith in to get the job done in the clutch. Sunday against the Rays, for instance, the Red Sox had runners on second and third down three runs against the Rays. It wasn’t a surprise to see Jarren Duran fly out to left to end the game.
It’s reached the point where anything besides a harmless out is the surprise.
4) They’re 12-20 against right-handed starters.
The Red Sox have had decent success against left-handers, posting a 5-4 record, but have struggled mightily against righties.
The strange part is that the lineup is loaded with left-handed hitters, with Duran, Mickey Gasper, Abreu, Masataka Yoshida, and Marcelo Mayer all in the mix. Against the Phillies, their first five hitters were all lefties.
It makes sense to some degree, but it might be overkill and would behoove them to have more balance.
5) They’ve stolen at least one base in eight of their last nine games.
How about something positive with the offense? There isn’t much to pick from, but here you go. The biggest strength at the moment offensively is their speed. They have 13 steals in the last nine games, and their streak of seven straight in early May was their longest since 2018.
Boston has 21 stolen bases in its last 16 games, tied with the Marlins for the second-most in MLB over that span. It’s clear interim manager Chad Tracy isn’t afraid to be aggressive and try to put pressure on the opposition.
6) Story, Duran and Durbin are all hitting. 203 or worse.
Not to belabor the point, but it is quite alarming that Trevor Story (.203), Duran (.189) and Caleb Durbin (.169) all have such ghastly averages.
It is what it is to hit around .240 and not necessarily have your best season; it’s far worse to struggle so significantly that questions start to arise about whether or not you deserve to stay in the lineup.
Those questions are fair and worth having. Story and Duran have both had successful seasons in Boston, so they have a bit more leeway, but Durbin hasn’t yet endeared himself to the Fenway faithful. If all three continue to struggle the way they are, a shakeup could be imminent.
7) They’re 7-13 at Fenway Park.
It’s strange to see the Red Sox struggling so much at Fenway. They’ve lost three of their last four at home, five of their last seven, eight of their last 10 and nine of their last 12.
For context, they finished 48-33 at home last year and even went 43-38 during their last place finish in 2022.
8) They lead the Majors in defensive runs saved with 41.
Here’s another positive stat to help ensure you don’t throw your phone in disgust.
The Red Sox have been one of the best fielding teams in baseball since mid-April, leading MLB with a .996 fielding percentage during that span.
Forty-one defensive runs saved is 15 more than the next closest team in the big leagues. Contreras is tied for second in the Majors among first basemen with four defensive runs saved. Give Durbin credit for leading MLB third basemen with eight defensive runs saved, and yes, Abreu leads all right fielders by a wide margin with nine.
9) They have the most shutouts in baseball.
To continue on the positive theme, the Red Sox lead the majors with six shutouts, right ahead of the Yankees.
The club tied its second-most ever within its first 40 games of a season behind only 1914 (10). In their last 80 seasons, this was just the sixth time the Red Sox have shut out their opponent in as many as six of their first 40 games.
They also have the second-best ERA (2.77) in the American League in May and have allowed two earned runs or fewer in six of their 10 games this month. Since 2003, the club’s only other seasons with 170 or fewer runs allowed over its first 41 games were 2007 (139) and 2024 (144).
Four regular starters – Ranger Suarez (2.77 ERA), Payton Tolle (2.78), Connelly Early (3.16) and Sonny Gray (3.54) – have given the Red Sox a chance. Garrett Crochet (6.30) and Brayan Bello (6.46) can’t say the same but have shown flashes of potentially returning to form.
Frustrating thing about the Red Sox is the pitching plan is largely working.
Brayan Bello had a 9.12 ERA, and he’s been great both times with an opener.
2 runs of 7.1 IP ball from your starter(+opener) is usually enough to win.
They just can’t hit.
— Ari Alexander (@AriA1exander) May 13, 2026
10) Seventeen of their 20 home games have been decided by three runs or fewer.
It’s not like they haven’t been close. The Red Sox are 6-11 in those 17 home games. Eight of their last nine have fit that category as well, and they’re 2-6 in those games.
Five of their last eight home games have been decided by two runs or fewer (2-3 record). They’ve been on the cusp of breaking through, yet haven’t been able to get over the hump. That about sums it up.
Trevor Hass is a sports producer for Boston.com, where he writes and edits stories about Boston’s professional teams, among other tasks.
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