Alex Cora: Boston Red Sox’ .500 homestand ‘is what we deserve’

Red Sox' Wilyer Abreu heads for the dugout after flying out during the eighth inning Sunday. (Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images)Getty Images

The Red Sox lost 5-1 to the last-place Orioles to finish their blah 10-game homestand with five wins and five losses.

It’s the same old, same old with this ball club. Boston split 2-2 against a bad Orioles team to drop to one game below .500 (27-28). The Sox are just two games over .500 (16-14) at Fenway, a ballpark that the best teams in franchise history have used to create a major home field advantage.

Manager Alex Cora’s team finished last year at .500 (81-81). The Red Sox are just two games over .500 (234-232) at Fenway since the start of the 2019 season.

They are the definition of mediocrity right now — and they have been for years.

The Red Sox needed a winning homestand. Instead they continued to tread .500 water while also seeing Alex Bregman, their best player, land on the IL with a “significant” right quad strain Saturday. Bregman’s injury is similar in severity to the left quad strain that kept him out for more than two months during the 2021 season.

“It’s still the same thing, right? Around .500,” Cora said. “We didn’t gain momentum. We didn’t lose momentum. One game under I think it is, right? So we’ve just gotta go on the road now. We’ve got Milwaukee. Good team. Got an off day in Atlanta. We were inconsistent in this homestead. It seems like when we hit, we didn’t pitch. And then when we pitched, we didn’t hit. So I think 5-5 is what we deserve.”

Red Sox starter Walker Buehler pitched 5 innings Sunday. Boston starters pitched fewer than five innings in six of the 10 games on the homestand, putting the bullpen in a horrible position.

The offense was hot and cold, scoring 19 runs Friday, then plating two runs in the final two games against the Orioles.

Boston right now could use a lengthy winning streak, something that has eluded it for a couple of years.

The Red Sox’ longest winning streak this year is five games. They haven’t had a winning streak over five games since 2023. Their last 10-game winning streak happened in 2018.

“You guys know how I feel about 10-game win streaks — we haven’t done that in a while here," Cora said. “When you get on a hot streak, you want to get eight games over .500, 10 games over .500. So we’re still playing where we’re at, an average team. And hopefully when we get our streak, we can get to eight games over .500 and then take off.”

Buehler put it best about the challenge the Red Sox face without Bregman.

“It’s one of those things, you lose a player like him and kind of see what we’re made of and that kind of stuff,” Buehler said. “Obviously I wanted to create a little bit more momentum than I did today. ... Super disappointing for me. Obviously a game we wished we had and get on the flight happy and all that stuff. But sometimes getting on the road and having the group together can kind of help out. So I think that’s kind of the goal this week.”

The Red Sox begin a six-game road trip in Milwaukee on Monday. They play the Brewers Monday-Wednesday. They have a day off Thursday before playing the Braves in Atlanta Friday-Sunday.

“I think we’re just grinding right now,” said Jarren Duran, who had four of Boston’s 10 hits Sunday. “Had some injuries. We’ve got some young guys that are gonna get forced to play every day and I think it’s just a battle we’re going to have to go through as a team. But I have faith in this team. We’ve got a lot of veterans — a lot of guys that have played that are going to be able to help the young guys come up and be able to do their thing. So it’s just another stepping stone for us to conquer. So I’m excited for us.”