The Boston Red Sox’s strong suit going into the playoffs was their offense, but that’s not how it worked out Thursday.
The Red Sox dropped Game 1 of their American League Division Series against the Cleveland Indians 5-4, partly because of a lackluster performance from starter Rick Porcello, who gave up three solo home runs in the third inning. However, the offense really didn’t do Porcello any favors.
The Red Sox were swinging at everything and especially had trouble with breaking balls. The Indians’ pitching staff generated a whopping 28 swing-and-misses, and 18 of them were on breaking pitches. Eleven of the Red Sox’s 14 strikeouts were swi…