Red Sox Veteran Gives Cryptic Answer on 'Different Vibe' to Explain Team's 9-20 Fenway Park Record

Isiah Kiner-Falefa offered one potential explanation for why the Boston Red Sox have struggled at home compared to their success on the road this season.

Speaking to reporters after Tuesday's 4-2 home loss against the Baltimore Orioles, Kiner-Falefa cited a "different vibe" when they are away from Fenway Park with fewer people from the outside around the team:

"I just feel like on the road we're a very close-knit team. We come home and there's just a lot of people. It's different. It's just a different vibe at home. We've got to figure out a way to make it small like how it is on the road. I just feel like at home we see a lot of people we don't know … that are around this area. When we're on the road, it's a close-knit group and we're becoming a really close team. Yeah, we gotta find a way to bring that back home."

It's unclear exactly what that means, be it an increased media presence, more family members around the stadium or nervous anxiety from the Fenway stands when the Red Sox fall behind.

Regardless of the exact meaning, the Red Sox home-road split is among the most perplexing stories in MLB this season. They are just 9-20 at Fenway Park after Tuesday's loss, but a respectable 16-14 away from home.

Boston is one of five AL teams with a winning road record. Its 9-20 home mark is the worst in MLB. No other team in the league has won fewer than 12 home games.

The Red Sox have outscored their opponents by 19 runs on the road (141-122), compared to a minus-26 run differential at home (118-92). Of the 24 games they have scored two or fewer runs, 15 of them have come at Fenway Park.

Tuesday's loss dropped Boston to 25-34 overall, 11.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East. The Red Sox are only four games behind the Texas Rangers for the final wild card spot.