All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' loss to the Angels, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
Ohtani too much on the mound: The two-way star has gotten far more attention for his hitting exploits. After all, he leads the big leagues in homers and coming into this series, he had 14 homers in the previous 17 games. But while Shohei Ohtani claimed a run-scoring double at the plate in the Angels' three-run first inning, he did most of his damage Tuesday as a pitcher. After getting touched for a run in the first on a double by Kike Hernandez, a groundout and a sacrifice fly, Ohtani didn't allow another run until the sixth inning. From the second through the fifth inning, he pitched to just one batter over the minimum while enjoying three 1-2-3 innings in the span of four. He changed speeds at a dizzying rate, sometimes following high-octane fastballs immediately with breaking pitches clocked at 67 mph. When he had to, he overpowered some Sox hitters, including Alex Verdugo who swung through three consecutive fastballs at the top of the zone in the sixth inning. Two things were clear: Ohtani has refined his pitching far beyond where he was in 2018 when the Red Sox first saw him. And secondly, the poor outing he against the Yankees last week -- allowing seven runs in two-thirds of an inning - was clearly an aberration.
Eovaldi fights constant traffic: After the Angels took Nathan Eovaldi the other way a few times in the first inning, then got a two-run homer from Max Stassi, Eovaldi didn't have a lot of hard-hit balls against him. But the Angels made him work and forced Eovaldi to throw out of the stretch repeatedly. Unlike Ohtani, Eovaldi had just one 1-2-3 inning (the fourth); other than that, the Angels always seem to have baserunners against him at every turn, even if they were seldom making hard contact against him. Case in point: the sixth inning, his final inning of work. With two runners on, he got Jose Iglesias to hit a dribbler to third which plated a run. The bad luck even continued after he left the game. Brandon Workman came in with the bases loaded and induced a rolling bunt from David Fletcher. But with the infield back and two outs, it was enough to produce another insurance run.
TURNING POINT
Trailing 3-2 in the sixth inning, the Red Sox had J.D. Martinez on first after he delivered a two-out RBI-single. Xander Bogaerts clubbed a pitch from Ohtani to right center, but Angels center fielder Juan Lagares tracked the ball, timed his leap perfectly and reached over the yellow line to make an incredible catch. In all likelihood, that would have been a two-run homer for Bogaerts, giving the Sox the lead and putting pressure on Ohtani. Instead, the ball was caught and the Red Sox' rally was snuffed out. "That play by Lagares,'' said Alex Cora, "it changed the game right there. If we get the lead, obviously, it's a different ballgame'
TWO UP
Connor Wong: The rookie catcher collected his first career extra-base hit with an opposite-field double leading off the sixth and came around to score. He also threw out Jared Walsh attempting to steal second base.
Kike Hernandez: For a change, Hernandez didn't make any spectacular defensive plays or throw anyone out from the outfield but he did double and score a run and was on base twice in four plate appearances.
ONE DOWN
Danny Santana: The offensive woes continued as he was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"Today, yeah he threw hard and all that. But he pitched today. He knows what he's doing out there. It's amazing what he's doing. Unreal.'' - Alex Cora on Shohei Ohtani.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* Xander Bogaerts saw his on-base streak come to an end at 29 games while J.D. Martinez saw his grow to 24 games.
* The homer allowed to Max Stassi by Nate Eovaldi marked the first time in six games that a Red Sox starter had given up a homer
* The Sox dropped to 7-28 in games in which they score fewer than four runs.
* Rafael Devers extended his hitting streak to eight games with a leadoff single in the seventh..
UP NEXT
The Red Sox and Angels conclude their series Wednesday afternoon at 4:07 p.m. with LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (6-4, 5.42) vs. LHP Andrew Heaney (4-6, 5.40)