Maybe they’ll begin to right themselves tonight when they open a four-game series at Fenway against the Tigers. Maybe the sight of The Wall and the sounds of the faithful will have them all hitting like it was May. Maybe a flock of pigs will do a flyover during the seventh-inning stretch.

What NESN dubbed “Rivalry Week” mercifully ended Sunday night with Daniel Bard’s latest failure – uh, learning experience – and Boston’s sixth straight loss. The Red Sox are now 6½ games behind The Empire, are tied for the lead in the wild-card race, and on the precipice of turning this into football season by the time the Patriots play their first exhibition game.

There is little to say in the form of deep analysis after the Yankees’ four-game sweep. Bard, who hadn’t allowed a run for roughly six weeks before August took hold, has no explanation for his meltdown. Victor Martinez ended the Red Sox’ scoreless streak of 31 innings with his two-run homer in the eighth Sunday night, but there is no evidence another mind-numbing streak might not have begun in the ninth.

Terry Franconca, famous for his disdain of team meetings, held a brief one before Sunday night’s game and reaffirmed his suspicion that they rarely work.

If it makes anyone feel any better, Yankees fans are worried about whether Sergio Mitre should continue serving as the No. 5 starter.

Tags: Daniel Bard, Red Sox, Sergio Mitre, Terry Francona, Victor Martinez, Yankees