Here’s a look at some of the larger concerns the Sox are working to address.
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The Sox’ chase rate has been much discussed during the poor start. They entered Tuesday having swung at 32.4 percent of pitches outside the strike zone, the sixth-highest chase rate in the game, and well above the 29.7 percent league average.
However, that elevated figure was almost entirely due to the free-swinging approaches of the team’s two least selective hitters, Ceddanne Rafaela (52 percent chase rate, fourth highest in MLB) and Trevor Story (49 percent, ninth). The other 11 position players had a combined 28.1 percent chase rate that was not only better than league average but also more selective than what that group posted in 2025 (28.7 percent).
Unquestionably, the group can be better. But there are signs of improvement, with the three straight walks in the sixth inning against Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski keying a game-winning, three-run rally and highlighting a more selective recent approach.
“I feel like we’re in a much better place now,” said Fatse.
Still, the Sox need improvement — particularly in being aggressive in the right situations. Entering Tuesday, the team had swung at 62 percent of pitches in the strike zone, the second-lowest rate in the big leagues (MLB average: 66 percent), including 61 percent of middle-middle pitches, the lowest (MLB average: 73 percent). Selective is good; passive isn’t, especially early in counts.
“There’s a time and a place to be aggressive. And obviously, there’s a time and a place to be passive depending on the game state,” said Fatse. “But we’re always looking to hunt pitches over the heart.”
Center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela is the Red Sox’ biggest free swinger.Barry Chin/Globe Staff
More particularly, Fatse is working on better swing decisions in pre-two-strike counts, when they can look to drive the ball with their “A” swing. The Sox have been pedestrian in such situations, hitting .307 (22nd) with a .507 slugging mark (19th). They’ve whiffed on 32 percent of pitches in those counts, the third-highest rate — aided by the fact that they’ve swung at more pitches (nine) in the “waste zone” (well off the plate) than any other team.
“It’s all about count leverage,” said Fatse. “The biggest thing we’re looking for is managing at-bats before two strikes, obviously putting yourself in a position to impact the mistakes before two strikes, making sure you’re convicted to that, and then with two strikes, trying to have a good plan to battle.”
What does pitching coach Andrew Bailey want to improve?
“Actual results?” he mused.
Bailey offered the suggestion to make a point: Based on internal assessments, the Sox believe their game results haven’t lined up with the expected outcomes based on the shape and locations of pitches made.
“We have a really good pitching staff. Very confident in that,” said Bailey. “And I think that there’s a lot of positive regression coming.”
Still, there are clearly points of emphasis in pursuit of that improvement. In particular, Sox starters have failed to attack. Through 10 games, just 45 percent of the rotation’s pitches had been in the zone, the fifth-lowest rate in baseball, contributing to low strikeout totals (21 percent, 23rd) and mid-tier walk numbers (9 percent, 15th).
“Especially [before two strikes], we want guys to flood the zone,” said Bailey.
The path to doing so is both individualized and incremental, involving days of between-starts conversation about intent, or experiments with grip changes, or subtle delivery tweaks that might get players more consistently working in the strike zone early in counts. But for now, the Sox are trying to make that work purposeful rather than frantic.
“There’s no excuses. We’ve been pitching poorly. We have to adjust things as needed, but I just want to make sure that we’re turning the right dials and making sure that we pull the right levers,” said Bailey. “You don’t want to just pull all the levers. It’s not a panic situation.”
Ranger Suarez has only struck out five in two starts.
Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
That said, the coaches also recognize that there is no time to waste.
“We need to pitch better. We need to get our starters deeper into games. We need to get some of those innings off of our bullpen,” said Bailey. “We have to turn things around quickly.
“We know that we need to win games.”
Alex Speier can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @alexspeier.
