State of team is worrisome, but Pedroia is doing his best to keep Red Sox afloat

Dustin Pedroia is heating up. Can his teammates follow suit and help Boston regain control of the AL East? (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

The Boston Red Sox desperately needed a spark, having lost three straight and three of their better hitters, David Ortiz, Marco Scutaro, and Kevin Youkilis, to injury. Depleted and looking up at the New York Yankees in the American League East, they entered Thursday’s game against the Kansas City Royals with a sense of urgency.

“We need to start winning some games,” second baseman Dustin Pedroia told the Boston Herald before the game. “We all want to win the division. The Yankees aren’t going to lose, so you’ve got to win, man. It doesn’t matter who you run out there. You’ve got to win.”

Pedroia did everything he could to make sure his Red Sox got off the snide. The second baseman was just three for his previous 23 at the plate, one of many Boston hitters struggling mightily, but on this night he collected three hits and drove in three rbi’s batting cleanup, raising his average out of that spot to an incredible .490 (27-55). The team won 4-3, behind Pedroia, a solid outing by Josh Beckett, and superb relief.

Pedroia, a former MVP who is in the conversation again this year, has hit wherever he has been in the lineup, mostly penciled in behind Jacoby Ellsbury at the top. Because of injury, manager Terry Francona needed him to give Adrian Gonzalez some suitable backup, and he certainly stepped up to the challenge.

In losing four of their previous six games, Boston could barely scrape across a run. Notably, they had scored just five runs total in their previous three games. The only player who was doing anything positive offensively was Ellsbury. Pedroia and others chipped in to stop the three-game losing streak, but can the Red Sox fuel off this victory and transform back into the team that, as of July 31st, was on pace for 101 wins?

Gonzalez is still batting .340, but he is not hitting for much power and only has a .447 Slugging Percentage since July 1st, with only 19 rbi’s in those 39 games. Carl Crawford, after a torrid few games early this month, has struggled, unable to lift his batting average above .250. Jed Lowrie and Jared Saltalamacchia are inconsistent. Josh Reddick has cooled off. The list goes on and on. And that’s just the offense. The starting rotation has been fairly solid, but in the longrun there are question marks, while there is a similar amount of worry attached to the bullpen.

The offense has too much talent not to find a groove in the last month or so of the season, but the upcoming schedule is brutal. The team is in the middle of a stretch in which they play 17 of 20 games on the road, and in the month of August they have managed to go just 9-8. Worse yet, as previously alluded to, Boston isn’t equipped with many dependable options.

Every team goes through a lull. What makes baseball, or any sport for that matter, enjoyable, is the fact that every team has a chance to win against anyone. Baseball is particularly unpredictable. One month, Boston pounds Seattle. Another, they lose the series. Pitchers are hot and cold, as are hitters. For the Red Sox, reaching the playoffs is almost a given, leading Tampa Bay by 8 1/2 games in the Wild Card. The division is in their sights, however, so with five weeks left in the season this victory over Kansas City has to be the end of the slump. If it isn’t, New York will run right over them.

Pedroia will do his best to make sure that doesn’t happen, and that more wins are on the horizon.

“We’re just trying to win games right now,’’ he said, as reported by the Boston Globe. “We’re getting close to the end here. We’re all trying to do our jobs. Wherever we hit, you’ve got to try and produce.

“I try and go out there, play the game hard, and help us win. That’s basically it. That’s what everybody is trying to do. Just because a couple of our main guys are out doesn’t mean we change our approach.’’

They all have the energy to become the Red Sox team that was so dangerous just a few weeks ago. Tough road ahead or not, the mindset and talent is there to right the ship. And even with the setbacks and losing streaks they have had, they rightfully aren’t lacking confidence.

Pedroia is one of the big reasons why. He is always confident, cocky, aggressive, and equipped with a winner’s mentality. And there isn’t a better personality or talent to ride to victory, as his 3-4, three-rbi night and comments thereafter exemplified.

“…He comes through so much,’’ Francona said. “It’s a comforting feeling knowing when he has something to say about the outcome of the game.’’