Red Sox

Red Sox’ struggles against lefty pitchers continue in loss to Royals

Boston mustered only four hits and one run through seven innings against Kansas City starter Cole Ragans.

By Colin McCarthy

July 12, 2024

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The Red Sox’s struggles against lefty pitchers this season are well documented, and they didn’t fare much better than usual on Friday night against the Royals.

Kansas City’s left-handed starter Cole Ragans went seven full innings with little struggle. He only gave up four hits and one run in the outing. Seven of Boston’s batters left the dugout without a hit, including Jarren Duran, Tyler O’Neill, and Connor Wong.

That, along with the fact that Kansas City’s offense got rolling early, allowed the Royals to coast to a 6-1 win.

The Red Sox lineup leans heavily on lefty batters generating offense. But, one of the major pain points of the season in Boston has been the lack of a solid right-handed batter to counter left-handed pitchers.

“We just got to find a way to do it,” Alex Cora told reporters following the loss. “We just got to keep working. Today we switched the lineup, [Rob Refsnyder] got on base twice. So, we’ve just got to be patient and keep working.”

On Thursday, Red Sox hitting coach Pete Fatse addressed some of those struggles against southpaws. Like Cora, he isn’t panicking about the lack of production, but acknowledged the improvements that need to be made.

“Some of our highest offensive producers are left-handed, right, so you can’t ignore the fact that same-sidedness plays a role,” Fatse said. “At the end of the day for us, it’s about trying to find solutions and making sure our lefties, and righties as well, are prepared every single night. … The production is there, it’s just a matter of finding the balance.”

That encouragement didn’t do much for the Red Sox on Friday night, but there’s still time to turn a corner in that area.

Boston will look to even the series on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. Eastern Time against a righty, Seth Lugo.