After the Boston Red Sox ripped off a 15-game winning streak, Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow ended up being a buyer, rather than a seller, at the MLB trade deadline on August 3.
Breslow’s team went from the basement of the American League standings at the end of July to the second AL wild-card spot by the deadline. It was a no-brainer which direction he was heading two weeks ago. Breslow’s big move at the deadline was acquiring catcher Adley Rutschman from the Baltimore Orioles.
He was on the injured list when he was acquired with left wrist inflammation, but after a couple of rehab assignment games in Triple-A with the Worcester Red Sox, he was activated on August 11 against the Toronto Blue Jays. Since going into the lineup, things haven’t gone as planned for Rutschman or the Red Sox.
Boston Red Sox Catcher Opens Up About Struggles at the Plate
Boston finished a seven-game road trip against the Blue Jays and Pittsburgh Pirates at 2-5 after an 8-3 loss on Sunday. They dropped three out of four in Toronto and two out of three in Pittsburgh. During that stretch, Rutschman has struggled at the plate.
The former No. 1 overall pick by the Orioles in 2019 is just 1-for-17 with nine strikeouts. Some of the at-bats have produced some bad-looking swings. However, Rutschman isn’t going to change much heading to Fenway Park for his first series as a member of the Red Sox.
“I think the competitor in me, I want to go out there and perform,” said Rutschman, per Ian Browne of MLB.com. “Bottom line: I want to perform for these guys and come out here and be able to do what I do. But at the end of the day, you have to really stick with your approach or else baseball is a game of failure and can get you in a bad mindset quickly.”
Rutschman picked up his only hit in Boston so far in his first game against the Blue Jays on August 11. On Sunday against the Pirates, he struck out twice and walked once as part of his 0-for-3 day at the plate.
“Baseball, it’s a game of adjustments,” Rutschman said, per Browne. “So I’m just trying to work every day towards my process. That’s always been my approach from a hitting standpoint. Just trying to stay with my process, not make any drastic changes. Just that one thing that clicks and gets you back to barreling balls.”
Boston Red Sox Hope Rutschman Can Turn Things Around at Fenway Park
Boston heads home to begin a six-game homestand with three games each against the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants. Two National League West opponents going in opposite directions. Arizona is in the thick of the NL wild-card race, while the Giants are trying to fend off the Colorado Rockies for last place.
Boston is heading in the wrong direction after a torrid six-week stretch. They have lost three straight series to the Athletics, Blue Jays, and Pirates. Three teams that you wouldn’t expect them to lose a series to.
They will open the series three games behind the New York Yankees for home-field advantage in the wild-card round. However, there is a lot of baseball left, and getting Rutschman home to Fenway Park just might be what he needs.
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