The Boston Red Sox have started slowly offensively. Over the first four games, they’ve scored 11 runs and struck out 41 times, going 1-3 over that span.
Two of the new additions to the lineup, Willson Contreras and Caleb Durbin, have started particularly slowly. The two have just one hit between them — a base hit from Contreras on Sunday. Contreras has also walked four times, while Durbin has walked once.
On Monday, the Red Sox recorded just four hits and scored one run in an 8-1 loss to the Houston Astros. When asked about starting the season in a slump, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was able to relate.
“I mean, shoot, I think I started my career 0 for 17,” Cora said, as seen on the NESN postgame show. “You look up, and you see the low numbers.”
Cora actually started his career 0-9 before recording a bunt single in his tenth at-bat, but his first 11 plate appearances came over the course of a month, which likely made 0-9 feel like 0-17, or even more. While every hitter goes through cold streaks over a 162-game season, starting the season in a slump comes with added pressure.
“One thing for sure, don’t rush yourself to get a hit, right? Stay within yourself, work the count, put up a good at-bat. I think that’s something Willson [Contreras] has done. I think Caleb [Durbin] today was able to do that, although the results weren’t there,” Cora said.
The Red Sox have a tough test on Tuesday. Hunter Brown is slated to start for the Astros, coming off a season in which he placed third in American League Cy Young voting.
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