Should the Red Sox be worried about Craig Kimbrel?

8:07 AM ET

HOUSTON — Craig Kimbrel stood on the mound, his back to home plate, and stared out at the bleachers in right-center field as Houston Astros slugger Colby Rasmus rounded the bases in the ninth inning Sunday night.

Talk about a bad look.

Unfamiliar, too, for the new Red Sox closer. Through his first six big-league seasons, Kimbrel was as lights-out as humanly possible, which is why it took four prospects to pry him away from the San Diego Padres in a November trade. But for a 27-year-old with a 1.63 ERA who had averaged 14.5 strikeouts per nine innings and is under contract through at least 2017, it seemed like a risk worth taking.

In the end, given Kimbrel’s age and track record, it probably still will be.

Craig Kimbrel gave up a two-run home run to Colby Rasmus in the ninth inning Sunday night for his first blown save with the Red Sox. Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports

But that doesn’t change the fact that his first month with the Red Sox has been ugly. Kimbrel allowed a game-winning three-run home run to Baltimore’s Chris Davis in the Fenway Park opener on April 11, walked Toronto’s Troy Tulowitzki to force in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning of a Patriots’ Day loss last Monday, and now this, a game-tying two-run shot by Rasmus in an eventual 12-inning, 7-5 Sox victory.

Worried yet?

“We’ve got full trust in Craig,” manager John Farrell said.

Fair enough. Kimbrel certainly has earned the benefit of the doubt. But what if he already has reached his peak? Is it even possible that his most dominant days might be in the past?

Consider this: From 2010-14, Kimbrel allowed an average of 5.0 hits and 0.4 homers per nine innings with an adjusted ERA of 266 for the Atlanta Braves. Last year, with the Padres, he …

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