Had Roenis Elias pitched well against the Seattle Mariners on Friday night, odds were good he was headed back to Triple A Pawtucket regardless. The Red Sox rotation is a bit like the Bourne rotary these days, everybody spinning in circles.
Elias made it an easy decision on the Sox, getting hit hard and often in an 8-4 loss before a crowd of 35,896 at Fenway Park.
Franklin Gutierrez drove in a career-high six runs with two home runs and a double, all against Elias. The lefthander allowed seven runs on seven hits and three walks in four innings.
Elias was indeed optioned back to the minors after the game, along with overmatched outfielder Rusney Castillo. No corresponding moves were announced.
Clay Buchholz, banished to the bullpen earlier this month, will start Wednesday.
These are troubled times for the Red Sox. They were 12 games over .500 and three games ahead in the American League East on May 31. They have since lost 9 of 14, including four of the last five. Now the Sox are a game behind in the division and a game away from falling into third place.
“It’s not been reflective of the first two months that we had, particularly the most recent stretch at home here,’’ Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “We’ve played from behind here of late a little bit. This month has been the other side of the coin.’’
Unless the Sox improve their pitching staff, they will waste what is an increasingly remarkable final season by David Ortiz.
Ortiz was 1 for 3 with a two-run homer, his 18th of the season and No. 521 of his career. That tied him with Hall of Famers Willie McCovey, Frank Thomas, and Ted Williams for 19th place all-time.
Ortiz left the park with the ball he hit and the bat he used. He was humbled to be included in any conversation that included Williams.
“It means a lot,’’ Ortiz said. “All you guys know how great Mr. Ted Williams was . . . It’s wonderful talking about some of the greatest hitters in the game and hearing your name mentioned with them.’’
Ortiz is hitting .344 with a 1.147 OPS. He leads the majors in doubles (29) and slugging percentage (.723) and is second with 59 RBIs and a .424 on-base percentage.
But Ortiz spoke in low tones in a clubhouse nearly empty of teammates. As he succeeds, the Sox are slumping.
“My focus is just on trying to win games,’’ Ortiz said. “I know our starting pitching is battling . . . We need to stay consistent, pitch good, and give them the good offense.’’
On Thursday, Elias said he was looking forward to facing his old teammates. The 27-year-old pitcher appeared in 51 games over two seasons for the Mariners before being traded to the Red Sox in December.
“It’s going to be a good experience, an interesting one,’’ Elias said.
After three pitches, it was a painful experience. Ketel Marte lined the first pitch of the game off the wall in left field for a single. Gutierrez then homered to center field, sending the ball into the first row of the bleachers.
Gutierrez led off the third inning with a home run to left field. It was the third time in his career he has hit two home runs in a game, the second time at Fenway Park. Gutierrez connected twice off Henry Owens last Aug. 16.
Gutierrez belted a three-run double to right field in the fourth inning after Elias loaded the bases with two outs.
“He just threw me some pitches over the plate and I put some good swings on them,’’ said Gutierrez, who the Red Sox considered signing as a fourth outfielder in the winter before getting their main target, Chris Young.
Robinson Cano followed with an RBI single. The inning only ended because Jackie Bradley Jr. threw out Cano at second base.
Counting an April relief appearance, Elias has allowed 10 runs on 11 hits in 5? innings this season. He did not make himself available to reporters after the game.
Now his spot in the rotation goes to Buchholz. He was 2-5 with a 6.35 ERA in 10 starts but allowed three earned runs over 9? innings in five relief appearances. He pitched three shutout innings Thursday, showing what Farrell felt was his best fastball of the season.
The Sox also need improvement or a replacement for lefthander Eduardo Rodriguez, who is 1-2 with a 6.97 ERA.
“This game is always about the pitching,’’ Ortiz said.
Seattle starter Hisashi Iwakuma had faced the Red Sox four previous times and allowed 17 earned runs on 30 hits over 15 innings. By that standard, he pitched well Friday.
Iwakuma (6-5) gave up four runs on nine hits over seven innings.
Ortiz’s home run came in the fourth running, a two-run shot to center field.
The two runs batted in gave Ortiz 59 for the season and 1,700 for his career. That moved him past Jim Thome for 25th all time, two behind Reggie Jackson.
Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeteAbe.
