Failing to take advantage of some prime scoring chances, the Red Sox fell short to the Los Angeles Angels, 5-4, dropping their second straight and ending their West Coast road trip at 3-3.
After closing to within a run in the eighth, the Red Sox had three chances to bring home Xander Bogaerts from second base and couldn't do so. They Sox finished 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
Eduardo Rodriguez allowed two first inning runs, then yielded back-to-back solo homers to Shohei Ohtani and Jared Walsh in the fifth.
The Sox scored twice in the fifth and once each in the sixth and eighth. But a second homer from Walsh, this one off Darwinzon Hernandez, proved to be insurmountable.
WHO: Red Sox (54-33) vs. Los Angeles Angels (43-42)
WHEN: 4:07 p.m.
WHERE: Angel Stadium
SERIES TO DATE: 1-1
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: BOS 3-2
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (6-4, 5.42) vs. LHP Andrew Heaney (4-6, 5.40)
TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI-FM 93.7
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Hernandez CF
Verdugo LF
Martinez DH
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Renfroe RF
Arroyo 2B
Vazquez C
Dalbec 1B
ANGELS
Fletcher 2B
Ohtani DH
Walsh 1B
Gosselin LF
Iglesias SS
Suzuki C
Ward RF
Lagares CF
Rengifo 3B
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
T8: Sox strand a runner at second, as David Fletcher makes a fine stop behind the bag, with a long throw to nab Arroyo at first for the third out of the inning.
T8: Luis Rengifo loses a ball in the sun for a gift triple for J.D. Martinez. An oppo double by Bogaerts plates a run and puts the potential tying run in scoring position.
B7: Jared Walsh belts it out to RF for his second homer in as many at-bats as Darwinzon Hernandez fails to take advantage of the left-left matchup.
T6: Looks like the Red Sox were victimized by a bad call, even with replay in use. It certainly looked like Jose Iglesias never touched the second base bag on a 4-6-3 double play, but after the challenge, call is "upheld.''
T6: A double by Bogaerts, throwing error by reliever Steve Cishek and a single up the middle by Christian Arroyo brings the Sox to within a run.
B5: Tie doesn't last long. On a 2-and-2 pitch, Ohtani gets a changeup on the inner half and hits it out to RF on a line. Homer No. 32 for Ohtani, the most for a Japanese-born player in an MLB season....on July7.
T5: Red Sox had that one coming to them. After the Angels put about five balls in play for soft-hits, Alex Verudgo follows their lead and punches an off-the-end of the bat single into shallow left, scoring Vazquez with the tying run.
T5: Poor baserunning by Christian Vazquez, who only advances to second on a long run-scoring single from Bobby Dalbec. Vazquez had to wait to see if Phil Gosselin was going to catch the ball, but should have played it halfway. Either way, Christian Arroyo has scored the first run of the game for the Sox.
T4: J.D. Martinez extends his on-base streak to 25 games with a two-out walk in the fourth. First Red Sox baserunner since the first. Sox still don't have a hit.
B2: More soft hits for the Angels, but Rodriguez wiggles out of a first-and-third jam by fanning Shohei Ohtani on a changeup down-and-in.
B1: Eduardo Rodriguez the victim of some ridiculously bad luck early -- three jam shots for singles and a groundout to the rightr side produce a 2-0 lead for the Angels.
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox lead MLB in wins and own sole possession of the AL’s best record (54-33, .621). The Sox have won 10 of their last 12 games and are 22-10 (.The Red Sox lead the AL East by 4.0 games...Their largest lead of the season is 4.5 games. The Sox are 11-15 (.423) against AL West teams and 43-18 (.705) against all others. The Sox are 29-20 (.592) vs. teams that entered today with a winning record, MLB’s 2nd-best mark. 688) in their last 32....Each of the Red Sox’ last five games (and seven of their last nine) has been decided by one or two runs. The Sox are an MLB-leading 27-14 (.659) in games decided by one or two runs. The Sox are 8-2 in their last 10 one-run games.... The Red Sox lead the AL East by four games...Their largest lead of the season is 4.5 games. The Sox are 11-15 (.423) against AL West teams and 43-18 (.705) against all others. The Sox are 29-20 (.592) vs. teams that entered today with a winning record, MLB’s second-best mark...: The Red Sox rank in the top four in the majors in runs scored (second, 443), AVG (third, .258), slugging (fourth, .438), OPS (fourth, .758), doubles (first, 183), and XBH (first, 302).....In their last 13 games: In their last 7 games, Red Sox starting pitchers have posted a 2.18 ERA.....They threw five or more innings and allowed two runs or fewer in six of those seven games, including no runs in three of them.....Sox starters have allowed one homer in their last six games. Sox starters have thrown five or more innings 68 times, third-most in the majors (45-23 in those games)....Sox pitchers have issued three walks or fewer in nine of their last 10 games.....In that time, they lead the majors in SO/BB ratio (4.24). The Sox lead the AL with 1.02 HR allowed per 9.0 IP... They have allowed only two homers in their last four games..... Red Sox relievers rank third in the AL and seventh in the majors in ERA (3.45)...Their nine active relievers have a combined 2.92 ERA for the Sox....In their last 21 games, Sox relievers have posted a 2.41 ERA ...They have stranded 20 of their last 22 inherited runners.... Josh Taylor has made 26 consecutive scoreless appearances (21.2 IP), MLB’s longest streak of 2021....J.D. Martinez owns the majors’ longest active on-base streak (24 games), the 2nd-longest streak of his career (26 games in 2018)... The Red Sox have won each of Eduardo Rodriguez's last six starts.... In his last 3 starts, he owns a 2.50 ERA (with 21 SO, three BB, and a .197 opponent AVG...Threw six innings in each of those and has allowed one or no homers in each of his last 13 starts... Jose Iglesias is 4-for-9 with a homer lifetime against Rodriguez...Xander Bogaerts is 5-for-10 with a homer in his career against Andrew Heaney.
NOTES:
* Alex Cora was pleased what we saw from reliever Brandon Workman, who got four big outs in relief Tuesday night. "I do believe (Tuesday) was his best outing,'' said Cora. "The delivery was a lot better. He gained some confidence in Oakland with that Houdini act (Saturday). But (Tuesday) he made some great pitches. The breaking ball was good, the cutter was good, the fastball up was good. Compared to when he got here, (he's) a lot better. And I think it's more about mechanics than anything else. That was a tough situation, and a tougher one in Oakland. One thing about Workman, he'll find a way. He's going to fight, regardless of the stuff he has. Whatever he has on a given night, he'll battle.''
* Cora said he sees a mechanical issue with outfielder Alex Verdugo, who hasn't been driving the ball as much lately. "It's more about him collapsing (the back leg) and not being able to stay back and that's why he's been rolling over on off-speed pitches,'' Cora offered.
* While the Red Sox debated placing Danny Santana on the IL and activating catcher Kevin Plawecki before gametime but ultimately decided against it. Santana left Tuesday's game with a strained quad, but did some work on the field pre-game and the Sox apparently determined it wasn't worth losing him for 10 days just to get a fresh body on the bench today. Plawecki is expected to be activated Friday, with Connor Wong returning to Worcester where he can regular at-bats and playing time.