Red Sox frustrated by narrow loss before hitting the road

7:11 PM ET

BOSTON — Operating within his own dry candor, Wednesday’s postgame comments were probably about as close as Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell will come to calling out his team.

“Our approach has got to be from the mound. We’ve got to execute more consistently,” Farrell said following a series-sweeping 4-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers, the team’s fifth loss in its last six games. “When we do, it allows our offense to shine as it’s done all year, and that’s to put quality games together. But still, this is a matter of us going out as a pitching staff — not just one person in particular — but a staff to go out and execute a game plan consistently.”

The Red Sox came into Wednesday’s contest with one of the best July records in all of baseball (13-7), second only to the Toronto Blue Jays, but that’s a misleading way of looking at things. They’re heading to the west coast for a daunting 10-game swing capped by a three-game series at the NL West-leading Dodgers next weekend, and they’re in need of a shot in the arm.

With Wednesday’s loss, the Red Sox fell to third place in the American League East, a half-game behind the Blue Jays and three games behind the division-leading Baltimore Orioles. And while they’re still holding on to the second wild card spot, the Houston Astros (1.5 games behind) and the aforementioned Tigers (2.5) are hot on their tail.

But on the heels of Tuesday night’s horror show from suddenly spiraling All-Star knuckleballer Steven Wright, Wednesday afternoon’s effort from Eduardo Rodriguez felt …

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