All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 8-3 loss to the Mets, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
More trouble with the rotation: Every night, it seems, it's someone else's turn to fail. On Tuesday, it was Matt Hall's opportunity. He had a quick 1-2-3 inning in the first, sparking hope that, at last, the Red Sox were going to be in this one for a while. That hope was lost in the second inning when the Mets sent eight men to the plate while sprinting to a 3-0 lead, forcing Hall to throw more than 30 pitches in the inning alone. He secured two quick outs in the third before issuing a walk and getting the hook. Once more, the Sox fell behind early and faced a big deficit courtesy of their starter. It didn't get any better when Austin Brice took over -- in the fifth, he was rocked by a three-run homer by J.D. Davis. Even with Nathan Eovaldi's fine start in the opener, the Red Sox starters have compiled a 7.45 ERA. The good news? It's Eovaldi's turn again Wednesday night. The bad news? He'll be opposed by arguably the best pitcher in the game, Jacob deGrom, who's won the last two NL Cy Young Awards.
Squandered chances: As bad as the pitching has been since the opener, the offense has been just marginally better. In the last four games, the Red Sox have scored just 13 runs, a tick over three runs per game. That won't be sufficient with good pitching, never mind what the Red Sox are currently getting out of their staff. It's not as if they're not giving themselves chances. On Monday night, they twice had first-and-second opportunities and came away empty-handed. It was very nearly worse Tuesday when, in the third, the Sox loaded the bases and no out. When the bizarre inning was over, the Sox could only claim just one run. That wasn't nearly enough. A big inning could have provided the Sox with some momentum and turned the game around. Instead, two innings later, it was the Mets who added on. The Sox were just 2-of-10 with RISP Tuesday and 3-for-18 for the series.
Baserunning blunders: Seemingly intent on having every aspect of their game fall apart at once, the Red Sox added some suspect baserunning to their list of sins Tuesday night. With Kevin Plawecki on second and Andrew Benintendi on first and no out in the home half of the third, Jose Peraza hit a shot to the gap in right-center. As Mets center fielder Brandon Nimmo broke for the ball toward the Red Sox bullpen, Plawecki, strangely, remained anchored at second, apparently looking to tag up in the event the ball was caught. Nimmo had the ball tick off the very end of his glove, but with Plawecki clogging the bases and getting such a late start, he had to stop at third while Benintendi was forced to pull up at second and Peraza settled for a long, long single. Manager Ron Roenicke said Plawecki couldn't be blamed in the event the ball was caught, but a better read would have convinced him that wasn't going to happen.
TURNING POINT
In the bottom of the third, already trailing, the Red Sox loaded the bases with no out and had 2-3-4 in their order due and a chance to get back into the game. But J.D. Martinez fanned and what followed was a botched double play in which the Red Sox ran into an out unnecessarily. A run scored, but they had a chance to get much more.
TWO UP
Kevin Pillar: Pillar continued to make the most of his playing time, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, a run scored and an RBI. The idea was to have him start in the outfield somewhere against lefties and at this rate, he's done nothing to suggest that should change.
Colten Brewer: Brewer was easily the most impressive pitcher of the night for the Red Sox, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings while fanning four and allowing just one hit. He's unscored upon in four innings this season.
ONE DOWN
J.D. Martinez: Martinez had a brutal series, going 0-for-7 with four strikeouts and a walk. After a big night in the opener and two more hits the next day, he's done little, going 0-for-11.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"I think getting out on the road might be good for this team." - Kevin Pillar.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Jose Peraza hasn't struck out in 21 plate appearances this season.
- For the third straight game, Rafael Devers smacked a double.
- This marks the second straight season that the Red Sox have begun the season 1-4.
- Brandon Workman made his first appearance of the year in the ninth inning.