All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' loss to the Angels, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
Providing head starts to opponents proves costly: Lately, the Red Sox have fallen into a bad habit, spotting their opponents big leads in the early going. On Friday, the Angels took a 2-0 lead in the first before the Sox even came to the plate. On Saturday, the Angels scored four runs in the top of the first, doubling their first-inning output from the night before. And Monday, the Angels were, once again, quick to strike, putting up four runs in the very first inning, with three coming on a Hunter Renfroe homer into the left field seats. On both Friday and Saturday, the Red Sox were able to overcome the early deficits -- aided and abetted by the Angels both times -- but that wasn't the case Monday, a reminder that expecting to erase big leads isn't something that should be taken for granted. Clearly, the Sox need better starts out of the gate from their starting pitchers.
Rain cheats fans out of a longer look at Ohtani: Teams from outside the division only make one visit to Boston, so this is the first and last visit from the Angels for 2023. When the pitching matchups were announced, the prospect of facing Shohei Ohtani on the mound on Patriots Day -- against the backdrop of the marathon and Monday night's Bruins' playoff opener -- gave Monday the chance to become a special day on the sports calendar here. Alas, the weather didn't cooperate. First, the start of the game was delayed almost an hour (56 minutes) and then, in the top of the third, pouring rain returned, forcing a delay that lasted another hour and 25 minutes. Naturally, that meant that Ohtani wasn't going to continue on the mound, though he remained in the game as the DH. He allowed a run in two innings, with a walk and three strikeouts, and uncharacteristically, two wild pitches. It's too bad he didn't get to pitch longer, and uninterrupted.
Lineup is makeshift again: Every day, it seems, brings with it a reshuffled lineup and Monday was no different. The Red Sox moved Kike Hernandez back to shortstop for the first time in a week, and Hernandez committed his sixth error of the season. In the meantime, the Sox had Jarren Duran in center, with Raimel Tapia in right, as both Alex Verdugo and Justin Turner were given the day off. When the game was completed, four of the nine players in the starting lineup were hitting under .200. The plan calls for Hernandez to play the infield against righties -- either short or second -- while Duran will get some time in center to determine whether there's a role for him going forward. But in the meantime, between slumping players off to poor starts and some injuries, the lineup doesn't inspire a lot of confidence.
TURNING POINT
In the fourth inning, trailing by four, the Red Sox appeared poised to have a big inning. A leadoff double and two walks loaded the bases with just one out. But Kiké Hernandez was retired on a lineout to first and Reese McGuire flied to center, stranding three. For the game, the Sox were just 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position, but that fourth-inning opportunity was their most costly squander.
TWO UP
Jarren Duran: Promoted from Triple-A in the morning, Duran drew the start in center and had a double, a walk and a stolen base while making all the necessary plays in center.
Rafael Devers: Devers banged a double off The Wall to lead off the fourth and later drilled a single to right in the ninth, delivering a run.
TWO DOWN
Masataka Yoshida: Yoshida may have returned to the lineup, but he's still struggling at the plate. HE was 0-for-4 with a walk and is now 0-for-6 after missing four games with a hamstring strain.
Raimel Tapia: Getting a start in the leadoff spot, Tapia had two walks, but also fanned three times -- twice with runners in scoring position.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"After the delay, I kind of just treated it like a start, honestly.'' - Kutter Crawford on unexpectedly contributing 6.1 innings of relief.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* Rafael Devers has 14 RBI in his last nine games.
* Over his last seven games, Reese McGuire is hitting .450 (9-for-20).
* The Red Sox bullpen has allowed just two runs over the last 18.1 innings, spread out over the last four games.
* The Sox dropped to 2-3 in series finales this season.
* Opposing runners had been 15-for-15 in stole base attempts against McGuire until he threw out Ohtani trying to steal second in the sixth.
* Kutter Crawford's 6.1 innings of relief was the longest outing by a reliever since Ryan Weber tossed six innings vs. TB on Aug. 12, 2020.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox host the Minnesota Twins in the first of three, beginning at 7:10 p.n. Tuesday night. It will be LHP Chris Sale (1-1, 11.25) vs. RHP Sonny Gray (2-0, 0.53).