Offense unable to find the clutch hit vs. Rays

BOSTON -- For five innings on Friday night, the Red Sox hadn’t done anything at the plate, and that’s no exaggeration. Rays righty Yonny Chirinos had retired the first 15 Boston batters.

But before you could say “perfect game,” Brock Holt opened the sixth with a walk. And before you could say “no-hitter,” Jackie Bradley Jr. followed Holt by stinging a single to center. With one out, Mookie Betts drew a walk.

It seemed the Red Sox had exactly what they wanted -- the bases loaded and one out. Only that is a situation that has frustratingly spelled doom for the defending World Series champions of late, and it did again Friday en route to a 5-1 loss to the Rays at Fenway Park.

• Box score

Andrew Benintendi struck out looking, and Rafael Devers, who has been the best all-around hitter for the Sox this season, struck out swinging.

“We haven’t been good in a while with men in scoring position. We haven’t been good with bases loaded in the last month,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “Obviously, [Chirinos’] stuff was good. Throwing 96, 97 [mph] in the last inning, but we had a chance there with the bases loaded and didn’t put the ball in play. And they did the opposite.

“So we’ve got to keep getting better. That’s what I’ve been saying about the offense. There are certain things that we haven’t done this season. I know the numbers look great and very similar to last year, but it doesn’t feel the same way.”

There are certainly numbers that clearly back Cora’s point.

Since May 17, the Sox are 2-for-20 with the bases loaded. Over that same span, they are hitting .240 with runners in scoring position. Prior to May 17, they were fourth-best in the Majors with a .356 average with the based loaded and had a .284 average with runners in scoring position.

It is no coincidence that the stats have taken a downturn since May 17. Over that span, the Sox have played 13 out of their 20 games against four of the top teams in the American League (Astros, Indians, Yankees and Rays). Against those other contenders, the Sox have gone 4-9. When they play teams who are above .500 this season, the Red Sox are 13-19.

Could it be that they are trying too hard?

“It’s more of those guys trying to do more,” said hitting coach Tim Hyers. “Effort level is up and trying to do more instead of just relaxing. Allow [for the] game plan. Allow yourself to just relax in those situations and come through. When you’re trying to get a couple of guys on, trying to hit that three-run jack, you spin off some balls maybe that you could square up if you were just trying to stay within yourself.”

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While the team has shown the ability to score runs in bunches, it has often come up short in the tight games that require a key hit in the mid to late innings.

Hitting with two strikes is another area in which the Red Sox have struggled. Last season, the Sox hit an MLB-best .200 with two strikes. They are down to .178 so far this year.

“We’ve just got to use the whole field and not try to do too much in those situations,” Hyers said. “You try to do too much, and you come off the pitch and you fall behind. And it’s tough in this league whenever this happens.”

The Sox are 6 1/2 games back of the first-place Yankees in the American League East, and one sure way to close that deficit is to get back to what they used to be with the bases loaded and runners in scoring position.

“I think sometimes we get too pull-happy, and I think we’ve got five hits in the last month with bases loaded, we struck out 10 times,” Cora said. “Still have to use the big part of the ballpark. They’re trying. They don’t want to fail in those situations but we’ve just got to keep grinding.”

Given that Boston has many of the same players from last year’s World Series-winning team, why are the results so different for the offense when it comes to crucial situations?

“Not sure,” star right fielder Mookie Betts said. “It’s a combination of things. They make some pitches, we chase. Just one of those things where we have to do better.​”

Betts acknowledged that he needs to be better. Coming off an AL MVP Award-winning season, Betts is hitting .268 with an .841 OPS, 10 homers and 29 RBIs.

“It’s a work in progress,” Betts said.

It could just be a matter of Betts getting a few big hits under his belt and regaining the swagger he had for most of last season.

“He’s one of the guys that he’s trying to help the team out, help them win,” Hyers said. “And they spin the ball away from him a lot, and sometimes, I think he overswings a little bit and gets himself out front, and you’re seeing a lot more cue shots and more rollovers than we’ve seen in the past.”