Top 5 Most Incriminating Stats for Floundering Red Sox Offense

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After being shut out by the New York Yankees on Tuesday night, the Boston Red Sox's offense has hardly ever looked worse.
Every concern pessimists had about this lineup gelling has been borne out through 23 games. The 9-14 Red Sox have pitching concerns as well, to be sure, but virtually everyone in the lineup has already gone through a slump, and the numbers as a whole are pitiful.
Perhaps this is just a cathartic exercise, but it also seems somewhat instructive to sort through the five most incriminating statistics about the Red Sox's offense to this point. In no particular order of importance:
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13 (Home Runs by Red Sox hitters)

Boston has four home runs since Apr. 4. They're tied for dead last in the league with the San Francisco Giants, who seemingly are their National League evil twin, for the fewest long balls in the sport. And only three players on the team have more than one round-tripper.
Three (Qualified hitters batting under .200)
There's enough blame to go around, but if a player has more than 3.1 plate appearances per game, it feels fair to call them a disappointment at this point if they're batting under .200. And Boston has Trevor Story (.189), Jarren Duran (.162), and Caleb Durbin (.155) all under that umbrella.
.444 (OPS by a No. 2 hitter)

The No. 2 spot in the batting order is becoming the most respected slot across Major League Baseball, and now that Alex Bregman is gone, the Red Sox can't find anyone to step into that role. The Houston Astros rank first on this list at 1.195, seven teams are above .900, and the Red Sox are 138 points lower than the next-worst team (Seattle Mariners).
.630 (OPS against left-handed pitchers)
It's been obvious for the past few seasons that the Red Sox were short on right-handed power bats, and the injury to lefty-killer Romy Gonzalez looks more impactful by the day. Boston ranks 23rd in this particular metric after getting carved up by southpaws Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez this weekend.
25 (Baserunners in the first inning)

Getting off to a fast start is paramount, but the Red Sox are awful at it. And they're lucky opposing teams are helping them out, because of those 25 baserunners, nine have been walks, and three have been hit batsmen.

Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Boston Red Sox On SI, please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@moreviewsmedia.com