Craig Breslow acknowledges 'pitching and defense' as concerns that could cost Red Sox down stretch

The Red Sox lost 9-7 Wednesday night to the Texas Rangers in what was arguably their ugliest loss of the season.

The game was a microcosm of the issues holding the Sox back from being a surefire postseason team: lack of infield defense due to injury and unreliable pitching from the bullpen.

In the aftermath of that game, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow joined The Greg Hill Show for Thursday’s Front Office Report.

“I think the pitching and defense certainly stand out,” Breslow said when asked what could keep the team out of October.

“In the first half, it was the pitching that carried us, and coming out of the All-Star break, we’ve swung bats really, really well. We’ve got an offense that can score runs with any other team in the league, but we've got to prevent them as well.

“It’s true, we’ve got a young team that’s athletic and plays fast, but we've got to figure out a way to slow things down on defense, and it's not from a lack of effort or care or work. We've just got to continue to force these guys to develop at the big league level.”

Tanner Houck pitched another great performance Tuesday, giving up only two earned runs in 6 2/3 innings. Houck left the game with a 4-2 lead, but an inning later, it was a tied game.

“I think we've got to figure out how to preserve leads,” Breslow said.

“The last turn through, Tanner’s been better, Kutter [Crawford] has been better, and getting [Brayan] Bello back has been good, [Nick] Pivetta will go tonight, and so hopefully we can stabilize the rotation a bit and see some positive performances on that side as well.”

The return of injured players like Triston Casas will also help the team in its run to the postseason.

“We're nearing the end of [Casas'] rehab assignment. I would expect that he's going to be back with us soon,” Breslow said.

Breslow said the delay in his return is due mainly to Casas’ comfort with returning to the grind of a major league schedule.

“There's no question that we're a better team when Triston Casas is on it, but that's only the case if he's producing at the level that we're used to out of him,” he said.

Another major injury for the Sox this season was Trevor Story, who went down early in the year with what was deemed a season-ending shoulder injury. Now, he may be close to making a return.

“I think over the last two or three weeks, we've seen such rapid progress that this went from, you know, a pipe dream to potentially a reality,” Breslow said.

“[I] watched him take batting practice on the field on Monday, [and] kind of joked, he hit the ball over the monster and I said, I think you're gonna be ready tomorrow…I think just the idea that he might be back on the field has really uplifted the group, and having him around has had such a positive impact on others.”

Wednesday’s game was also the first back for Jarren Duran, who was issued a two-game team suspension for the use of a homophobic slur in a game against the Houston Astros on Sunday.

“We felt like the incident warranted a very strong response from the organization,” Breslow said.

“We certainly recognize the damage that had been done with the mistake that this was. At the same time, I think we also can recognize that Jarren is a good kid who made a mistake, and, you know, both of those things can be true and it's important that we and his teammates support him.

“I think you're seeing that because I think Jarren took significant initiative in speaking to the media, in showing a ton of accountability, and in committing to doing the work to repair the damage that he's done.”