Even after trading for Drew Pomeranz, Red Sox’s pitching still not good enough

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ANAHEIM, Calif. — For three nights running, the same scene has played out at Angel Stadium. More than a half-dozen Boston Red Sox officials have crammed into an old radio booth behind home plate to watch the games, make judgments, compare notes and figure out how to proceed in the days leading up to Monday’s nonwaiver trade deadline.

By now, they must have drawn a stark conclusion: As constituted, the Red Sox aren’t good enough to win the World Series.

Sorry, but it’s true.

The Sox threw away Thursday night’s game when first baseman Hanley Ramirez’s throw to the plate sailed high and wide in the ninth inning. They won Friday night thanks mostly to a complete-game gem from Rick Porcello. But lefty Drew Pomeranz, Boston’s biggest in-season addition to date, wasn’t nearly good enough Saturday night to pick up a typically high-scoring offense that went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base in a 5-2 loss to the woeful Los Angeles Angels.

Make it seven losses in eight games for the Red Sox, who slipped to two games behind the division-leading Toronto Blue Jays and have only a one-game lead over the Detroit Tigers in the race for the second wild-card spot. In three starts since being acquired July 14, Pomeranz is 0-2 with a 7.53 ERA, hardly what was expected after the Red Sox sacrificed top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza to get him from the San Diego Padres.

Red Sox starter Drew Pomeranz allowed five runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings on Saturday. Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

“It’s been a mixed bag,” manager John Farrell said of Pomeranz, who coughed up a 2-1 lead in the …

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