All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' loss to the Angels, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
Ohtani works his magic: Shohei Ohtani limited the Red Sox to just six hits over seven scoreless innings while striking out 11 and walking none in what long-time observers thought might have been his best start in the big leagues. Ohtani was throwing three pitches between 90-100 mph. "All of his pitches were unpredictable,'' said J.D. Martinez. "Some of his fastball would two-seam in, other ones were cutting. Some sliders were backing up, some were sweeping across the whole plate. And he threw me a splitter. I've seen it before, and they usually go down, but this one went (made horizontal motion). He ever crossed up (his catcher). He's just tough, man. He throws everything super hard.'' The Red Sox could never establish anything against Ohtani. Only once -- in the third inning -- did they manage to get more than one baserunner against him in the same inning.
Hill nearly matches Ohtani: Lefty Rich Hill may not have much in common with Ohtani, but for the five innings that the veteran was on the mound, he matched his zero for zero on the scoreboard. In his own way, HIll may have actually performed better, allowing just one hit over five and retiring the first nine batters he faced in order. Using his usual assortment of high 80s fastball and spotting his curveball -- from different angles, too -- Hill kept the Angels off balance the entire time. The Red Sox' starting pitching has been superb for the last few weeks, but thanks to the struggle of the offense and poor performance of the bullpen, many times, those outings have been wasted -- as happened Thursday with Hill.
Houck gives it up: Tanner Houck's first inning of relief was a strong one, as he struck out the side in the sixth inning. But it was downhill from there. Houck surrendered a two-run homer to Jared Walsh in the seventh inning, which, in retrospect, was all the Angels would have needed given the flat response from the Sox offense. But Houck's misery wasn't close to being done. The first five hitters in the eighth reached base against him, as Houck's sinker flattened out in the zone and the Angels teed off against him. The Red Sox have been sadly accustomed to late-inning uprisings against a number of relievers, but usually feel comfortable when the ball is in the hands of either Houck or Garrett Whitlock. That wasn't the case Thursday afternoon.
TURNING POINT
In the fifth inning, with the game still scoreless. Jackie Bradley Jr. led off by ripping a double into right field. But after Kevin Plawecki's sinking liner was caught in right, the top of the order failed the Sox. Trevor Story went down swinging for the third straight at-bat and Rafael Devers then took a called third strike, leaving Bradley in scoring position. Over the final four innings, the Red Sox would get only two more baserunners and only one would advance as far as second base.
TWO UP
Jackie Bradley Jr.: Bradley continues to rake at home, following his two double night from Tuesday with another two-hit effort, including a double. He's five-for-seven in his last three games.
J.D. Martinez: Martinez continues to anchor the middle of the lineup and has been hot since returning to the lineup Sunday in Baltimore. He had a double to lead off the sixth inning.
TWO DOWN
Trevor Story: Whatever momentum Story gained with his three RBI night Wednesday seemed to be gone as he struck out in all four of his plate appearances and heard plenty of boos from the Fenway crowd.
Alex Verdugo: Verdugo is mired in a bad slump of his own after an afternoon that saw him go 0-for-4, dropping him to 5-for-37 over his last nine games.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"It's not ideal at all. I think we're all aware of it. We're just not playing well. When we pitch, we don't hit and when we hit, we don't pitch. It's a bad combo.'' -- J.D. Martinez.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* Red Sox starting pitchers have allowed two earned runs or fewer in 13 of the last 14 games.
* The shutout was the first suffered at home since April 2, 2021 vs. Baltimore.
* Rich Hill extended his scoreless streak to 14.2 consecutive innings.
* Jackie Bradley Jr. is batting .407 with a 1.060 OPS in home games this season.
* J.D. Martinez, who doubled in the sixth inning, now has an eight-game hitting streak.
UP NEXT: The Chicago White Sox arrived for a weekend series Friday. It will be RHP Nathan Eovaldi (1-0, 2.51) vs. RHP Vince Velazquez (1-2, 4.58) at 7:10 p.m.