This is the last chance for the Red Sox' offense to reappear

Monday might just have been a brutal tease.

That was the day the Red Sox' offense exploded for 12 runs, hitting four homers. It was going to be the springboard for a run at just the perfect time. Just as was the case a few months ago, the lineup was ready to put this team on its back.

Then came Tuesday night.

Just three runs with 13 more strikeouts and a momentum-killing 5-3 loss to the Orioles at Fenway Park. In a seemingly blink of the eye, hope had taken another huge hit.

Going back to the first game of the Arizona series - on Aug. 23 - the Red Sox are 6-12 in large part because of an offense that has disappeared. During that stretch they have a .666 OPS (25th), with a run total of 62 (which, of course, is boosted by this week's 12-run outburst, but still falls at 26th overall in MLB during that span).

In this downturn, the Sox have scored three or fewer runs 13 times, losing 11 of those games. Thirteen of the games over the 18 have seen them hit one or fewer home runs. In fact, after not hitting a homer Tuesday the Red Sox are now 15-30 when going homerless.

All these morbid numbers and statistics are presented as a reminder the Red Sox have no choice but to find a few player who are ready to drive the offensive bus.

The problem is that the three hitters this batting order should be built around - Jarren Duran, Rafael Devers, and Triston Casas - has been far from the best versions of themselves.

Through the first 10 days of the regular season's final month, Duran has .480 OPS, with Devers coming in at .570 and Casas just behind with a .558 OPS.

With 17 games to go, and the Red Sox sitting four games out of the final Wild Card spot, this entire offensive dynamic needs an about-face. Considering what transpired in June (4th-best team OPS), and July (2nd-best OPS), it would seem to be in there. But ...

Did we mention that they are four games out with just 17 games to go?

“It’s been the whole season. It’s who we have, the personnel that we have. But we have good hitters. We're not walking a lot lately, and that's a bad combination: a lot of strikeouts, no walks,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora.

“You have to earn your hits, right? We haven't been able to do that. We have to take a look at it -- if it's just swing-and-misses in the zone or we're expanding. We have to take a deep dive and see what has happened the last three or four weeks.”