Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Garrett Whitlock | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Another day, another one-run loss for the Boston Red Sox. After blowing a 3-1 lead to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday and losing another series, the team dropped to .500 on the season again at 18-18. Fans are frustrated, especially after one of the team’s most trusted relievers, Garrett Whitlock, blew a save for his second straight outing. And it’s time for manager Alex Cora to make adjustments, specifically with being deadset on letting Whitlock go two innings in his appearances.

Admittedly, the bullpen as a whole continues to look like an issue, one where Craig Breslow and the Red Sox’s decision to not add another piece is already starting to bite them. However, Whitlock came into the season and was seemingly immediately locked into a multi-inning role. Only four of his 12 appearances this season have been less than two innings.

However, Sunday’s loss was indicative of the problem. After a stellar first inning on the mound in relief of Garrett Crochet, Whitlock went back out for the seventh inning, immediately walked the first batter, gave up a single, but did get two outs. Unfortunately, he didn’t get three as Ryan Jeffers socked a game-tying two-RBI single, giving Whitlock his second blown save.

Granted, his blown save against Toronto earlier in the week actually came in his first inning of work. But then again, with the usage he’s been getting in this role, perhaps it’s just another sign of what Cora needs to realize: This isn’t the right usage of Whitlock.

Red Sox need to stop letting Garrett Whitlock go two innings

Misusing Whitlock isn’t anything new for the Red Sox. They previously tried to stretch him into a starter, which derailed a good bit of his development due to persistent injuries. Now that they’ve settled him back into the bullpen, though, they need to just figure out where he’s most comfortable and utilize a talented pitcher in that role. The signs are there that this isn’t where he’s most comfortable.

For most of April, Whitlock was nails, getting his ERA as low as 1.72 before his last two outings. However, there were early signs as well that this might not be his best role. After a pair of two-inning appearances to start the year in March, he gave up three earned runs in his next four innings of work. That didn’t bite the Red Sox then as they still went on to win, but the signs were there.

Now, it’s becoming abundantly clear that this isn’t the role he’s most comfortable in. And Cora needs to find a fix — and fast.

The Red Sox are too talented and, frankly, have gotten too good of starting pitching over the past week plus to be a .500 baseball team. The bullpen management has been an infuriating factor in their shortcomings. It’s clear that Cora only truly trusts about 3.5 of his relievers: Whitlock, Justin Slaten (who’s slumping in his own right) and Aroldis Chapman, plus maybe Greg Weissert half the time.

However, this is a team that trusted Sean Newcomb to take starts — so why not trust giving him a multi-inning role, or even the sixth inning to set up Whitlock? There’s also the baffling choice to option Luis Guerrero back to Triple-A despite him pitching four scoreless innings and giving up only one hit over that span (and not giving up a run late last season when he was called up). He could be another option that seems quite trustworthy.

Whatever the solution is, though, Whitlock in this multi-inning role clearly doesn’t suit him. There are still 126 games left in the season and the Red Sox are somehow still only two games behind the AL East-leading Yankees. However, these late-game mismanagements and collapses can’t keep happening. Based on the recent returns, the most obvious tweak to make is to shift things around and get Whitlock out of his current role. Ultimately, that feels best for the Red Sox and the player alike.