James Loney’s single scored the winning run as the Red Sox fell 4-3 to Tampa Bay on Sunday. The loss was the latest subpar performance by the overworked Sox bullpen. Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara both have 2-4 records and a combined ERA of 2.76, a high one for relief pitchers. Each also has two blown saves. Craig Breslow, Alexei Ogando, Craig Breslow and Robbie Ross Jr have even worse stats.
Ricky Doyle of NESN.com said it best “The Red Sox rely so heavily on Tazawa and Uehara that sometimes it’s reasonable to wonder whether hitting a wall is inevitable.