Sox need to get healthy quick or they'll be left in the dust

Jul. 15—At full strength the Red Sox have enough talent on the roster to compete for the playoffs, but if they can't get healthy soon things could get ugly in a hurry.

Since the start of July the Red Sox have been forced to get by without nearly all of its starting rotation. Ten of the last 13 games have been started by rookies or openers, and entering Thursday the club's starters had combined for a 6.59 ERA while averaging 4.2 innings per start since July 2, including Kutter Crawford's pseudo start (5.1 innings of relief) on July 4. The Red Sox were 4-8 over that stretch.

That's bad enough, but factor in the club's ongoing bullpen issues and now having Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, J.D. Martinez and Trevor Story all banged up as well, and it's no wonder the Red Sox have struggled so much.

Thankfully the cavalry is on its way.

Chris Sale made his season debut on Tuesday and was excellent, and now Nathan Eovaldi is expected to make his first start in more than a month on Friday against the New York Yankees.

Garrett Whitlock, Rich Hill and Michael Wacha might not be far behind, and with everyone set to get a breather during next week's All-Star break the Red Sox should be much better positioned for the second half.

They better be, because as the Sox have fought to keep their head above water the playoff race has gotten a lot more interesting.

Since the start of July the Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners have surged back into the picture, and entering Thursday both clubs were riding 10-game winning streaks.

Baltimore's rise is particularly shocking. The Orioles, long the doormat of the AL East, are now over .500 and within just a couple of games of the Red Sox in the standings.

Seattle, meanwhile, won their 11th in a row Thursday night and now hold sole possession of second in the Wild Card standings. Tampa Bay has a 1.5-game lead for first, Boston and Toronto are tied for third and Baltimore, Cleveland and the Chicago White Sox are all within 2.5 games of a playoff spot.

How's that for a crowded field?

Even with three Wild Card spots in the expanded playoffs, it's going to take everything the Red Sox have to elbow their way into the field. Starting rookies four out of five days isn't going to cut it, and neither will patching together a lineup that doesn't have Bogaerts, Devers, Martinez and Story in it more often than not.

The Red Sox need Sale, Eovaldi, Wacha and Hill taking the ball, and for Nick Pivetta to get back to his May and June form where he pitched like a borderline All-Star. They need Whitlock back in the bullpen, where he, Tanner Houck and John Schreiber can form the lockdown late-inning tandem the Red Sox have been searching for all season.

They need all hands on deck in the lineup, a fully stocked bench and probably outside reinforcements at the trade deadline as well.

If they have all of that, the Red Sox are a playoff team.

But if not? They risk worse than just falling behind the pack and out of the hunt. They could actually wind up in last place.

Email: mcerullo@northofboston.com. Twitter: @MacCerullo.