BOSTON — Through the first two weeks of the 2026 season, things have not gone as planned for the Boston Red Sox. The club that entered the year insisting it was built on elite pitching and airtight defense has instead delivered early results that tell a different story — and the mounting pressure is now squarely on manager Alex Cora and Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow.

After dropping eight of their first 10 games — including a humbling three-game sweep at the hands of the suddenly struggling Houston Astros — the Red Sox improved to 5-9 with a 7-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night. Winning three of their last four contests has offered a flicker of momentum, yet the slow start has already ignited visible frustration inside Fenway Park, where fans have begun chanting for ownership to sell the team. That outcome, of course, remains highly unlikely in the near term.

The early-season struggles have not escaped the front office’s attention. In a pointed message aimed at calming upset supporters, Breslow urged patience and pushed back against knee-jerk reactions to the team’s offensive woes.

“To grab any 12-game stretch and question the slugging feels kind of arbitrary,” Breslow said. “Our guys are very capable of doing damage — of hitting the ball hard, getting extra-base hits and home runs. Those will come. We’ve just got to give ourselves as many good opportunities to score as we can.”

While the 12-game sample may appear small in isolation, the context of the club’s offseason decisions makes the early slump harder to dismiss. When star third baseman Alex Bregman departed in free agency to sign with the Chicago Cubs, Breslow pivoted away from adding another impactful bat and instead invested heavily in the rotation, signing Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Ranger Suárez to a five-year, $130 million contract. The rest of the lineup, for the most part, remains largely unchanged from a year ago.

On the field, that choice has contributed to a noticeable offensive logjam. Cora continues to juggle four outfielders for three everyday spots, with the fourth player typically sliding into the designated-hitter role. Roman Anthony has struggled at the plate and has shown defensive issues throwing from left field. Masataka Yoshida has been inconsistent. Meanwhile, Wilyer Abreu has emerged as arguably the Red Sox’s most productive hitter through the first two weeks. Cora has repeatedly emphasized that the team is still searching for the right balance to ensure everyone receives adequate playing time.

The starting rotation has also failed to provide the stability the organization envisioned. Suárez delivered his strongest outing in a Boston uniform on Saturday, working six innings, allowing just three hits and striking out six Cardinals while earning his first win with the club. The numbers are telling: Boston is 5-0 this season when a starter works six or more innings — and 0-9 when a starter fails to reach that threshold.

Cora has spent the early portion of the St. Louis series tweaking his lineup in search of answers. After being shut out in the series opener, the Red Sox erupted for seven runs on Saturday, with five of those coming in the ninth inning to turn a tense 2-1 game into a blowout. For a fan base that has grown impatient with the early skid, such bursts represent the kind of step forward the club desperately needs to quiet the growing noise.

Breslow’s call for patience may be analytically sound — small samples can be misleading, and the talent remains in place — but the early narrative in Boston has already been written. Whether the pitching and defense finally coalesce, and whether the offense begins to deliver the power it has shown in flashes, will determine if the 2026 season becomes a story of resilience or continued disappointment. For now, Cora and Breslow are being asked the same difficult questions on a near-daily basis. The answers, and the wins, will need to arrive sooner rather than later.