Less than two weeks ago, the Boston Red Sox had reasons for optimism. They had won eight of their last 10, were within four games of climbing back to .500 and were only five games out in the AL East.

What a difference (less than) two weeks can make.

Since then, the Red Sox have gone 1-6 and were utterly dismantled in Anaheim. After a Mike Trout walk-off homer Friday, the Angels shut the Red Sox out for the second straight day on Saturday. A washout Sunday prompted a double-header Monday and the Angels won the day game 11-1. They jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the nightcap and finished it off 7-3.

So the four-game total saw the Angels outscore the Red Sox 22-4. That's a bloodbath.

The Red Sox have now lost five in a row and have fallen to 8 1/2 games out in the AL East. With the trade deadline looming on July 31, a team that once looked like a possible buyer has to be considering selling, right?

Monday's homer notwithstanding, David Ortiz is in his decline phase. The Pablo Sandoval signing hasn't quite worked out and Mike Napoli is having the worst season of his career. Clay Buchholz is hurt now while Joe Kelly and Justin Masterson have been awful. Rick Porcello was signed to a four-year, $82.5 million extension before the season and has a 5.79 ERA.

This is a mess that general manager Ben Cherington has created and he needs to start cleaning it up. He can start with an active late July in front of the trade deadline.

Eduardo Rodriguez was roughed up Monday afternoon.
Eduardo Rodriguez was roughed up Monday afternoon. (USATSI)

On the Angels end, they've won 15 of their last 19, making a five-game deficit in the AL West into a 2 1/2 game lead. The 3-4 punch in the lineup in Mike Trout and Albert Pujols is the same duo that is first and second in MLB home runs, at 28 and 29, respectively. How is this little factoid:

Pujols hit three total home runs Monday, meaning he's now passed Mike Schmidt for 15th on the all-time list.

Six more home games (three each vs. MIN, TEX) await the Halos before a date with the Astros in Houston. The way they're playing right now, going something like 5-1 doesn't seem unreasonable.

Other notable Monday happenings:

(Full scoreboard with recaps and box scores from every game)

- In the NL East battle at the top, the Nationals drew first blood, winning 7-2. Matt Harvey was tagged for five runs (four earned) early before settling in, but the story here was the Mets' abysmal offense. They entered the game last in the NL in runs, hits, average and slugging percentage while being toward the bottom in pretty much everything. Their only two runs Monday came on a Matt Harvey looper with eyes (MLB.com has video).

GM Sandy Alderson has no excuse to be even moderately inactive as we approach the end of July and what's the harm in calling up top prospect Michael Conforto to play left field? They should be in desperation mode when it comes to generating offense.

On the Nationals side, Ian Desmond hit a home run, and they could really use a return to form there. Oh, and Jose Lobaton did this:

- The Pirates have a left-side-of-the-infield problem, but were able to overcome it Monday in taking down one of MLB's best teams in the Royals. It was a wild affair, with the Pirates getting a 5-1 lead, upping it to 7-2 and then seeing the Royals cut it to 8-7 before tacking on two more. Travis Ishikawa went 3 for 4 with two doubles, a home run and four RBI from the eight-hole for the Bucs. Yordano Ventura coughed up six runs on 10 hits in just four innings for K.C.

- The Reds beat the Cubs, 5-4, and did so with the help of three home runs (Jay Bruce's go-ahead shot was crushed) and one of the best defensive plays of the season.

- Remember that Craig Kimbrel/Melvin Upton trade on Opening Day Eve for the Padres? The Braves got back Cameron Maybin -- who is having a breakout season -- and Matt Wisler as part of the return. Wisler made his sixth career start Monday and beat the Dodgers. He's now 4-1 with a 3.60 ERA.

Also in that game, Eury Perez sported a cannon:

- The Tigers beat the Mariners, 5-4, thanks to two Ian Kinsler homers, including this go-ahead blast:

- The Rockies opened up a seven-run lead through two innings against the Rangers, blew that lead -- Adrian Beltre's RBI double tied it in the ninth -- and then got a walk-off single from Ben Paulsen.

- The Padres beat the Giants, 4-2. Too little, too late? The Padres have now won five straight games, moving to 44-49 on the season. They are six out of the second wild card and if they keep playing well, they probably couldn't justify selling at the deadline even if they wanted to.

For the Giants, the loss snaps a six-game winning streak, though they don't lose ground in the NL West (3 1/2 games back) or wild card (1 game back).