Carlos Narváez Sends Stern Message After Latest Red Sox Loss originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Carlos Narváez knows the Boston Red Sox won't have forever to reverse their early-season doldrums.
Boston fell to 9-16 following Thursday's 4-2 loss to the New York Yankees. The Red Sox scored three runs in three straight defeats against their rivals, who are now seven games above them in the American League East standings.
While the MLB season is a marathon, Narváez also won't dismiss Boston's slow start.
"We've been saying, 'I know it's early,' but we cannot have that mentality," Narváez said after Thursday's loss, per MLB.com's Ian Browne. "Okay, it's time to go. We got to flush it. Of course, it doesn't feel right, but we got to flush it."
The catcher urged the team to finish April strong in a pair of division series against the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays.
"We got six important games on the road," he continued. "We cannot be stuck in the mindset like okay, yeah, we gotta be better. No, of course we know we gotta be better. We're working on it. We work every single game, every single day and it’s just about time, OK. At the same time we’re grinding. The most important thing is the next three games, and then the next three games, that's gotta be the focus right now."
Narváez delivered his first home run of the season when hitting a go-ahead solo shot off Cam Schlittler in Thursday's fifth inning. However, the Yankees responded by tagging Red Sox reliever Danny Coulombe for three runs in the seventh.
That continued a frustrating stretch for the Red Sox, who have an MLB-worst .331 slugging percentage this season. Narváez hasn't helped a reeling offense much, following a breakthrough rookie season by notching a .612 OPS through 16 games.
Boston must quickly shake off a disappointing sweep to the Yankees with an important AL East road trip. Friday's game at Baltimore starts at 7:05 p.m. ET on NESN.
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