Red Sox Manager Cora Calls for Improved Pitching to Reach Goals

Cora says Boston's staff must pitch better for the team to get to .500 and beyond this season.

Apr. 9, 2026 at 11:04pm

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A cubist-style painting depicting a baseball pitcher's motion broken down into sharp, overlapping geometric shapes in a palette of deep red, navy blue, and forest green, conceptually representing the Red Sox's need to reconstruct their pitching approach.Cora's call for improved Red Sox pitching aims to deconstruct the team's struggles and rebuild a winning formula.Boston Today

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora has called for his pitching staff to improve their performance, saying the team's ability to reach their goals this season hinges on better pitching. Cora pointed to issues like walks, hits allowed, and lack of strikeouts as areas the pitchers need to address in order for the Red Sox to turn their season around.

Why it matters

The Red Sox have underperformed so far this season, and Cora is putting the onus on the pitching staff to step up and give the team a chance to get back to .500 and compete for a playoff spot. With high expectations coming into the year, the Red Sox need their pitchers to live up to their potential for the team to reach its goals.

The details

Cora expressed frustration with the Red Sox pitchers, noting they walked eight batters and allowed 18 at-bats with runners in scoring position in a recent game, making it "very hard to win that way." While the Red Sox have talented arms on paper, the staff has struggled to consistently perform at a high level so far this season.

  • The Red Sox played a game on Monday, April 8, 2026.

The players

Alex Cora

The manager of the Boston Red Sox.

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What they’re saying

“We have to pitch for us to get to .500. To go to where we want to go, we have to pitch. That's the bottom line. We walked eight, I believe. They had 18 at-bats with men in scoring position. It's very hard to win that way. Very hard.”

— Alex Cora, Manager

The takeaway

Cora's strong words highlight the Red Sox's need for their pitching staff to improve their performance if the team hopes to turn around its season and reach its goals. The Red Sox have the talent, but the pitchers must execute at a higher level for the team to be successful.