All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 7-2 loss to the Mets, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Stop me if you've heard this one....: Pitching again dug an early hole. Opener Josh Osich got through the first inning unscathed with just nine pitches, but the second saw him issue a leadoff walk followed by a two-run homer over the visitor's bullpen by Michael Conforto. Next came Jeffrey Springs, who was far worse. He yielded a bullet by Pete Alonso that would surely have hurt someone had there been actual fans in the Monster Seats, with an exit velocity of 116 mph. Finally, Springs was tagged for a three-run homer by Dom Smith, stretching the lead to 7-0. It marked the third straight game in which the opponent took a large multi-run lead before the Sox could put up so much as one run. Collectively, thanks to their horrid starting pitchers, the Sox have trailed 18-2 through the first four innings over the last three games.
Godley shows something: Initially, it seemed likely that Zack Godley would be next out of the bullpen following opener Josh Osich. But Ron Roenicke decided he'd rather have another lefty for matchup purposes and went with Springs instead. That was a mistake, and though Godley tossed four shutout innings with seven strikeouts, by then, the game was hopelessly out of hand. He allowed four singles in four innings, but only was hard-hit -- the three others included a squibbler in front of the plate, a broken-bat single to right and another groundball through a vacated spot in the field due to the shift. Godley showed enough in his outing that Roenicke said the Sox would be discussing having him take a conventional start the next time through the rotation. At this point, given what they've gotten from others, it would be foolish not give Godley the ball and let him show what he can do. If nothing else, between his loud grunting that accompanies his delivery and his sprints off the mound toward the dugout, he provided an entertainment factor.
Homers without baserunners: Both Red Sox runs came via solo homers -- Mitch Moreland hit his second of the season with two down in the fourth and Xander Bogaerts hit his first with one out in the sixth. Naturally, given the way things are going for the Red Sox, both came with no runners on. In fact, through the first four games, every one of the five Red Sox homers have been solo shots. Since their offensive explosion in the opener last Friday, the only bit of offense that was not delivered by a solo homer was a two-run single by Bogaerts. On Monday night, the Sox had a couple of occasions when they seemed poised for a big inning. In the third inning, they got two on and no out with the top of the order due, but produced nothing. Nearly the same scenario happened in the fifth -- two on, no out. But two flyouts sandwiched around an infield groundout yielded nothing. Until they got a run-scoring single from Bogaerts in the eighth, they were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
TURNING POINT
As has been the case on this first homestand, it came early. By the time Smith drilled the three-run homer in the fourth, the Mets were cruising, up 7-0.
TWO UP
Phillips Valdez: Making his second appearance of the season, Valdez flashed impressive stuff and tossed a scoreless ninth inning.
Jackie Bradley Jr.: Bradley saw his multi-hit streak come to end at three games, but he did contribute a single in the fifth and drew a walk, so he's reached base multiple times in all four games.
ONE DOWN
J.D. Martinez: After a blistering start, Martinez cooled at the plate the last few days and Monday night was 0-for-3 with a walk, twice stranding two baserunners while making the final out of an inning.
Rafael Devers: A bounced throw to first resulted in a throwing error, his third error in the first four games. Just like last year, the third baseman is starting the season poorly in the field and the errors are coming in bunches.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"We've proved we can come back. We're capable of coming back. If you've got to score eight, nine, 10 runs a games, obviously, it's a little tough.'' Xander Bogaerts.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- The Red Sox have started 1-3 for the second straight year.
- Xander Bogaerts has five RBI in four games.
- Twenty of Mitch Moreland's last 21 homers have come off lefties.
- Bradley is the first Red Sox player with eight hits through the first four games since Bogaerts in 2018.
- Andrew Benintendi stole second in the first inning and is now 53-for-64 in stolen base attempts in his career.