In a disturbing trend, Red Sox again lacking in offensive punch, scoring

The 2012 Red Sox managed by Bobby Valentine were ready for the season to end in July, but still finished fifth in the American League in runs scored.

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The 2023 team that finished 23 games out of first place and got chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom fired led the league in doubles and scored 34 more runs than the league average.

As bad as it has been — and it’s been plenty bad in some seasons — the Red Sox have always managed to hit.

Until now.

Tuesday night’s 2-1 loss against the Phillies marked the 11th time in 41 games the Sox were held to one or fewer runs. The Sox have hit the fewest home runs in the American League, only 29, and scored the second-fewest runs.

The Sox are on pace to score 620 runs, which would be their fewest over a full season since scoring 599 in 1992. They’re also on pace for only 115 home runs, 71 fewer than last year.

With Roman Anthony on the injured list with a sprained finger and Willson Contreras unavailable because of a bruised right hand, the Sox had recent Triple-A call-up Mickey Gasper batting second and Masataka Yoshida hitting cleanup.

Interim manager Chad Tracy, who is gamely trying to row a boat with one oar, said before the game that it just seemed logical because Gasper was 3 for 4 with two doubles on Sunday.

“I like the at-bats,” he said. “I’ve told you guys about him before. I know he’s capable.”

Yoshida has four home runs over 256 at-bats the last two years. Four home runs is a good week for Aaron Judge.

But this is where the Sox are. Chief baseball office Craig Breslow built a roster that doesn’t take advantage of Fenway Park and lacks power. The Sox have scored only 57 runs in 20 home games — 18 in the last 10.

Phillies starter Zack Wheeler, one of the best in the game, faced only 19 batters through six innings and didn’t allow a runner beyond first base until the seventh, when the Sox finally scored.

The Sox left five runners stranded over the last three innings, going 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position.

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The Sox needed one big swing to change their night and it never came. Wilyer Abreu came close with a 374-foot shot to right field in the seventh inning. But that’s the wrong part of the park and Adolis García was there to make the catch.

The many Phillies fans in the sellout crowd of 36,795 were thrilled. The Red Sox fans were crushed.

“That can change the game right there and completely flip the whole night on its head,” Tracy said. “But comes up a little short.”

That’s the trouble with trying to win with pitching and defense. You still need to score at least a few runs. Otherwise, it’s a grind.

Trevor Story, who singled in the seventh and drew a walk in the ninth, has seen it before.

“We’ve talked about it last year, and pretty much every year,” he said. “The best teams here play well at home, and we have to find a way to do that and just kind of reverse what we got going,” he said.

“Easier said than done, but we’re putting in the work, and we’re confident that we can do it.”

Contreras will likely return to the lineup on Wednesday and Anthony is making some progress. But Contreras averaged 20 home runs for the Cubs and Cardinals from 2021-25 and Anthony is a 21-year-old who ended last season on the injured list and went back on after 30 games this season.

“We have guys that are hitting the ball hard,” Story said. “We just got to get in the air a little bit. It’s not as simple as it sounds … Hitting the ball hard is the first step.”

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