A fascinating trend is emerging for the
2017 Carmine Hose. They are leading the American League in batting average and on-base percentage—but they have a run differential of "0" (i.e, they've scored exactly as many runs as they've given up). They're scoring 4.3 runs per game—which isn't horrible—but they've had too many games like last night's where
they just can't seem to cross the plate at all. They've gotten some great pitching performances—particularly from
Chris Sale—but given him very little run support. Even
Rick Porcello—who finally looked
somewhat like the 2016 Cy Young winner yesterday—got nothing from his offense. What the heck is going on? Part of the problem is their relatively low slugging percentage—ranked just eighth in the AL (.398). And, of course, they are dead last in the AL in home runs (7)—even though they lead the AL in doubles (32). Weird. So, it seems that this "power outage" (an extra-base hit drought beyond doubles) may be the big culprit. Does the name
David Ortiz ring a bell?
