What are you to make of your Boston Red Sox? The pitching was bad in April, the hitting struggled in May.

Can they put it together?

So far, these Red Sox have simply been a big tease, languishing with a losing record in a division that allows for such mediocrity.

What Boston needs is a long run when all the working parts are, well, working.

Friday could have been a step in that direction. …

They loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth inning in Texas. These Red Sox have folded on these occasions too many times – by my estimation, radio play-by-play man Joe Castiglione leads the league in the use of the word “squander.”

Yet two of Boston’s kids came through. Xander Bogaerts hit a sacrifice fly for one run and Blake Swihart lined a single to left to score another.

Later in the game, Hanley Ramirez showed his resurrected power with his second home run in as many days.

Knuckleball pitcher Steven Wright put in a decent outing (5 2/3 innings, three runs), so what could go wrong?

The bullpen, which had been a point of stability, gave it up, allowing four runs in the 7-4 loss.

And so it goes. …

Boston is 22-27 after Friday night, and the backlash from fans and radio shows has been predictable: They want players released, new players traded for, and the manager and general manager fired.

Are any of those the answer?

You knew this was a flawed team going in but still hoped a lot of factors came together. It has happened before (see 2013). And there have been Boston teams that appeared flawless and then collapsed (see 2011).

This 2015 team is trending downward – down but not out, thanks to the American League East. After Friday’s games the Red Sox sat in last but only three games out of first place. In any other division Boston would be 7 1/2 games out or more.

Applause to the first-place Yankees for holding on despite a fragile roster and piecemeal rotation. New York started Chris Capuano (0-3, 6.39 ERA) in its loss Friday. And they have CC Sabathia (2-7, 5.67) under contract for at least one more year.

So this division is anyone’s for the taking, but the Red Sox need to make a move instead of hoping everyone remains as humdrum as they are. Baltimore has the pitching and hitting to rise.

So what are Boston’s problems and (possible) solutions?

• Starting pitching. Eduardo Rodriguez was supposed to return to Pawtucket after his Thursday night start, until he threw 7 2/3 shutout innings.

Can a starting rotation that ranks last in the American League (5.02 ERA) dare say Rodriguez needs more seasoning?

Rodriguez is scheduled to start again Wednesday – at home against Minnesota – and assuming he’s not a two-game wonder, he goes into the rotation full-time. Wright has a 3.71 ERA in his three starts, so he’s done nothing to harm his spot.

Wade Miley (4-4, 4.47) had a terrible April (8.62 ERA) and has turned it around in May (2.60) heading into Saturday night’s start.

Likewise, Clay Buchholz (2-6, 4.33) has looked fine lately, averaging two earned runs and seven-plus innings in his last four starts.

Rick Porcello (4-4, 5.37) is maddeningly inconsistent. He can be so effective, so Boston has to keep running him out there and hope he finds his groove.

That leaves Joe Kelly (6.24 ERA), who is scheduled to start Sunday, and Justin Masterson (6.37), who went on the disabled list with a “tired arm,” and is expected to make a rehab appearance Sunday in Pawtucket.

Both Kelly and Masterson could be bullpen candidates. Masterson has performed the role before – although he’s not likely to be enamored with the job considering he’s angling for a big contract after this season.

Kelly has the making of a dominant reliever with his fastball. He also has a better WHIP (walks/hits per inning ratio) against left-handers (1.01) than right-handers (1.93).

There are two lefties to consider for the rotation – one cheap and unknown, the other expensive and established.

Brian Johnson is now Pawtucket’s best starter with the promotion of Rodriguez. Johnson (6-3, 2.07) threw six perfect innings Friday night before being lifted after only 74 pitches (after three straight outings of over 90 pitches, the Red Sox decided before Friday’s game to limit Johnson’s pitch count; the initial plan was to give him an extra day of rest, but he was moved to Friday after Rodriguez was promoted).

So Johnson could provide Boston with a boost. It would only require promoting him to the 40-man roster and paying him the major league minimum (about a half-million, pro-rated).

The other lefty, Cole Hamels, would not be so simple to get. He’s pitching for the Phillies (5-3, 2.98), a team that needs to rebuild and wants several young, quality players in return for their three-time All-Star. Plus, Hamels’ contract calls for $23.5 million a season through 2018, with an option for 2019.

Reportedly the Phillies wanted one of Boston’s top prospects – either Mookie Betts or Blake Swihart – as well as others for Hamels. That’s not going to happen.

But Boston has a plethora of prospects in Pawtucket (including Johnson or fellow lefty Henry Owens) and some highly-regarded ones in Class A (outfielder Manuel Margot and third baseman Rafael Devers among them).

Yes, Hamels is expensive, but not for a team that extended Porcello before the season (four years, $82.5 million) and invested $63 million in a 19-year-old (Yoan Moncada), who may be years from reaching the major leagues.

• Relief pitching. Boston has four pieces here, with closer Koji Uehara (0.95 WHIP), setup man Junichi Tazawa (0.72), seventh-inning reliever Alexi Ogando (1.11) and lefty Tommy Layne (1.26).

Matt Barnes (1.78) is still learning the role and may provide the dominant fastball the pen needs.

Craig Breslow (1.50 WHIP and 4.22 ERA) has not been effective. In Friday’s loss he faced seven batters and allowed five of them to reach base.

Boston has a couple of starters that can help in relief (see Kelly, Joe; and Masterson, Justin). If Boston is in contention, look for a trade-deadline deal to bolster the pen.

For longshots, look to Portland. Newly converted reliever Pat Light has allowed one earned run in his last 13 outings. Lefty Robby Scott (1.13 WHIP in Portland and Pawtucket) might be a surprise.

• Offense. Boston’s same-old problem of driving in runners continues to haunt the Red Sox. They rank second-to-last in the league in batting average with runners in scoring position.

The problem has been the heart of the order – third through sixth – which had ranked as low as 11th in the league OPS (combined on-base and slugging average), at around .700.

Internal solutions are hopefully on the way:

Ramirez (.813 OPS) had 10 home runs in April, but none in May until the previous two days. He may be back to being a force.

Mike Napoli (.721) was in a miserable slump but has a .979 OPS the past two weeks.

Pablo Sandoval (.709) has been horrible against left-handers (.260 OPS) but is going to strictly bat left-handed, which may help.

David Ortiz (.679) took two days off to try and fix his ways. It has worked before. We’ll see.

Meanwhile, Dustin Pedroia (.812) and Betts (.700) look solid at the top of the order; with Betts’ .843 OPS over the past week.

Super utility player Brock Holt (.790) continues to do his super thing.

Bogaerts is showing slow improvement (.750 OPS the last two weeks), and Swihart keeps getting better – from a .091 batting average in his first six games to .289 in his last 14.

Rusney Castillo shows signs of his potential but has played only six games. Jackie Bradley Jr. (.339/.865 OPS in Pawtucket) remains an option

Outfielders Shane Victorino and Daniel Nava are both on the disabled list and the odds are long of them contributing this season.

Boston has the ingredients to compete. But Red Sox fans are hardly content with simply contending.

Sure, this team can stay close in the middling AL East. To be a champion, the Red Sox need more.

More consistency in the batting order, especially with men on base.

More power from the heart of the order.

More reliability from the bullpen.

And more dominance from the rotation. That last need may require a bold move like, say, making a phone call to the Phillies.

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