Bogaerts: Red Sox lineup is really missing David Ortiz

The Boston Red Sox were shut out by Masahiro Tanaka and the New York Yankees 3-0 at Fenway Park on Thursday, ruining another impressive pitching performance from Chris Sale, who joined exclusive company by reaching double digits in strikeouts for the fourth consecutive game.

Boston's inability to score runs has been well-documented this season, especially over the past week with the Red Sox only managing 13 runs since April 20 and 78 overall - good for 13th in the American League.

When asked why the Red Sox were struggling to score runs, Xander Bogaerts had a very simple conclusion, "David (Ortiz) isn't here," the shortstop told reporters, including Scott Lauber of ESPN. "He was a huge part of our team the years that I've been here. We definitely miss him. We've got to do it without him."

Related: The Red Sox are really missing David Ortiz

Before retiring at the end of 2016, Ortiz was a major contributor to the Red Sox offensive attack last season despite him playing at 40 years old.

Big Papi hit .315/.401/.620 with 48 doubles and 38 home runs, while leading the AL in OPS (1.021) and tying for the league lead in RBIs (127).

Over the course of his career, Ortiz provided the Red Sox with 14 years of incredible production, hitting 483 home runs, 1,530 RBIs, and a .956 career OPS, while winning three World Series titles with the club in 2004, '07 and '13.