Royals 3, Red Sox 2

 

Even Sonny Gray can't save the Sox at this point. He gave up three runs by the end of the third, and the Red Sox limp-dick offense continued to make mediocre pitchers on basement-dwelling teams look like Greg Maddox. 

Mickey Gasper homered in the fifth, so the Sox put Jahmai Jones (.216) in to pinch hit for him in the seventh. He flied out after two taking two strikes. 

This is the third straight loss in a late-season home stand against the teams with the lowest win-loss records in the AL. Unacceptable. The Yankees, who are currently playing against the worst teams in the NL, have won four straight and the Sox are now 5½ games back in the Wild Card standings with 14 games to play, including three against the Rays in Tampa Bay. 

With a five-game lead over Cleveland, the third Wild Card team, the Red Sox seem nearly assured of winning the second seed and playing the Yankees in a three-game series, all in the Bronx. They will lose that series and this most unusual of seasons will end on the sourest of notes.

I don't mean to sound like a gloomer and the Red Sox are still and always will be my team - I'm a fan - but I'm also realistic. Too many injuries, too little offense, inconsistent pitching. At what point does one throw in the towel for mental health reasons, and kick back and watch the Patriots and the Georgia Bulldogs until the start of the NBA and NHL season?

The only solace I can find, the only glimmer of hope, is the cynical thought that as the Sox continue to fold, they might drop below Cleveland in the Wild Card standings (they have three games against the Guardians in two weeks) and instead of playing three in New York, they play three against either the White Sox or the Astros, two teams just barely above the .500 mark. They would still have to wake the fuck up and start hitting the ball, but you have to like our chances in Chicago or Houston more than in New York.

But as I said, it's finally football season, so let the Sox play but it's not advisable to be emotionally invested in the outcome from here on in.