Red Sox Fall Well Short Of Alex Cora's Overly Optimistic April Goal

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With an off day on Thursday, the Boston Red Sox are officially done playing baseball in April.

Unfortunately for the Red Sox, the first full month of the season was a rough one. It was so bad that it ended up costing Alex Cora and much of his coaching staff their jobs.

After going 1-4 in March, Cora was optimistic that Boston would turn things around and get on track in April. He set a bold goal for the Red Sox to win 17 games in April, which would have required the team going 17-9.

Given Boston's tough schedule in April, that was always going to be a challenge. It became even harder as several of the team's top players missed time with injuries, including Roman Anthony, Garrett Crochet and Sonny Gray.

Unfortunately for Cora and the Red Sox, they fell well short of that goal in April, going 11-15 with a minus-three run differential. Their continued underperformance led to Cora's dismissal on April 25.

Boston's sluggish start in March carried over into April, as the team continued to struggle both at the plate and on the mound. The Red Sox ended the month with the third-worst record in the American League and in last place in the AL East.

Slow starts were a common theme under Cora, so Boston will try to turn the page in May under interim manager Chad Tracy. The Red Sox will look to snap a two-game losing streak and start the month on a high note against the Houston Astros at home on Friday.

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