Swinging and missing

“We were terrible this road trip,’’ Dustin Pedroia said. “We stunk. There’s no way around it. It’s unacceptable, not scoring.’’

Before the game, in a conference call announcing the acquisition of a .247-hitting first baseman (albeit one with impressive second-half splits), general manager Theo Epstein had called the Red Sox “a good offensive club having a horrific month.’’ While the latter is certainly true, the former will be tested in the coming months as a team relegated to second in the American League East, two games behind the Yankees, attempts to prove it can hit enough to challenge in the postseason - or even make it.

“It’s crazy, especially a team that is capable to hit like this one is,’’ David Ortiz said. “This kind of funk, it happens. It’s baseball, man.’’

There are no answers, and that includes Adam LaRoche, a complementary piece picked up as insurance for Mike Lowell, and for a little bit of pop. The team-wide slump, which includes an 0-for-22 skid by J.D. Drew, has left the Sox little to say and do. So they will take today off, do their best to exorcise the trip out of their minds, and return to Fenway Park tomorrow to face the Baltimore Orioles.

As Pedroia said, “We just scored one run. I don’t have an answer for that. We’ve got to go back to the basics. See ball, and hit very hard. That’s about it.’’

“Unfortunately, from where we stand, it’s the same story it’s been the last few days,’’ manager Terry Francona said. “It’s not a lack of energy, trying. We’re just collectively not putting any runs on the board. We got a Nick Green solo homer, and that’s all we have to show. That’s a hard way to win.’’

When Clay Buchholz stepped onto the mound last night, he represented the last Sox pitcher to win, which came last Friday against the Blue Jays.