Nine games should be much too early in a 162-game season to suggest the Red Sox have reached an inflection point. But here we are.
The Sox kicked away a four-run lead in an 8-6 loss against the Padres on Sunday afternoon and are now 2-7, with losses in seven of their last eight games.
No team is further behind in their division than the Sox, who already trail the Yankees by five games.
The Brewers, one of the best teams in baseball the last few years, arrive at Fenway Park on Monday for a three-game series. The Sox then leave on a six-game road trip to St. Louis and Minnesota.
Another week of this and it’s not a slow start. It’ll be who they are until proven otherwise.
Read more from Peter Abraham at BostonGlobe.com/Sports. | 
