Richards frustrated as Sox lose fifth straight

DETROIT -- In a storyline that’s become uncomfortably familiar of late, the Red Sox were competitive, but missed the big hit, stop, defensive play -- pick one or more -- to push them over the top during a 4-2 loss to the Tigers on Tuesday night at Comerica Park.

This defeat marked Boston’s fifth straight, adding one onto what was already its longest slump of the season.

“Our goal is to come tomorrow and win,” manager Alex Cora said. “We don't want this slide to continue. We didn't like it when we lost two in a row, or three in a row, or four, or five.”

The Red Sox sent starter Garrett Richards to the hill in hopes he’d snap both the team’s slump and his own, but Richards was saddled with the loss after he allowed three runs on five hits over four innings. As Boston moved to 3-7 in its past 10 games, Richards fell to 2-5 since May 25.

The evening began well enough, with the Red Sox building an early 2-0 lead thanks to an RBI single from J.D. Martinez in the first inning and a leadoff homer from Hunter Renfroe in the second.

Martinez’s knock was an especially welcome sight after the three-time Silver Slugger entered the series with just two hits in his past 25 at-bats.

“Teams go through these stretches, no matter how good they are or how bad they are,” Renfroe said of the Red Sox, who are one game behind Tampa Bay in the AL East. “This is a tough game; it's a hard game, and when teams go through this, you've got to figure out what you're made of. I think we'll come out of this stronger, and understand our team a little better moving forward.”

As Martinez made strides forward, Richards remained mired in the same multi-run, low-innings funk that began for him on June 11. While Martinez’s position in the lineup is fairly secure -- seeing as the Red Sox spent five years and $110 million to woo him in February 2018 -- Richards entered Tuesday with what appears to be a limited amount of time left to fight for his rotation spot as Chris Sale nears his return.

Richards’ performance in Detroit offered bits of both crispness and suspense, with the righty cruising through his first three innings outside of a solo home run from Miguel Cabrera, the 498th of his career. As has often been the case over the past two months, trouble began brewing for Richards around the fourth inning, when the 33-year-old opened the frame with a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases.

Boston’s bullpen stirred just then, and Richards must have sensed the short leash, for he worked to ring up Eric Haase on a third-strike slider, allowed a game-tying sacrifice fly to Harold Castro and coaxed Willi Castro into a groundout to limit the damage.

Richards’ magic was gone by the time he took the mound in the fifth inning. He faced just two batters, walking the first and allowing the second a double that scored the eventual game-winning run, before getting the hook.

It was, much to his disappointment, more of the same from Richards, who on June 11 began a rough run of eight consecutive starts, pitched to a 7.43 ERA during that time and allowed 11 home runs in 36 1/3 innings.

“It's frustrating,” Richards said. “This has been the worst year of my career, so I'm just trying to find a way to give us a chance to win every night and take steps forward.”

There’s much anticipation around the return of Sale, who had Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, and is slated to make what should be his final rehab start on Saturday. While there’s no doubt Boston’s rotation has struggled as a whole to produce quality innings of late, Richards would likely be the odd man out if decisions were made today.

“The way I feel and the way I'm throwing the ball doesn't necessarily match the results I'm getting right now,” Richards said, “which is frustrating, but it's part of the game, so, on to the next one.”

There will be at least one “next one” for Richards, who Cora confirmed was still scheduled to start again on Sunday. But changes could still be on the horizon. In order for the Red Sox to reclaim the division lead, there will have to be.

“We're talking about it, and if we have to make adjustments, we will,” Cora said. “We still believe in these guys. We do believe that they can go five, six innings for us just like they did early in the season and put us in a good spot to win.”