BSJ Game Report: Angels 7, Red Sox 3 - Boston swept after Paxton struggles early, offense still lagging

All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' loss to the Angels, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Boston drops fourth in a row: With Wednesday’s 7-3 loss and sweep at the hands of the Angels, the Red Sox have followed their four-game winning streak with a four-game losing streak. It is the third time in the month of May that Boston has been swept.

Sox better at the plate, but still much to be desired: The Red Sox’ bats were improved, but still couldn't make a significant impact. The Sox actually outhit LA, 8-7, but were just 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position. They stranded eight. They have just four extra-base hits in their last four games, and three came Wednesday. 

Paxton falters early: James Paxton was due for a slip-up at some point or another, but with the Sox in desperate need of some sort of positives to take from this series, the game slipped away from Paxton quickly after a four-run top of the second, followed by a homer for Shohei Ohtani to make it 5-0 in the third.

TURNING POINTS

Bottom of the second: After a strong top of the first that saw Paxton strike out Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, Paxton struggled in the top of the second. A walk, a double and a sacrifice fly allowed LA to open the scoring. After another walk, Zach Neto took a high fastball deep to make it 4-0, which felt like an easy back-breaker, given the state of the offense.

Top of the seventh: The Red Sox finally had something going at the plate. Connor Wong left the yard to start and cut it to 7-2 before Masataka Yoshida found himself at the plate with the bases loaded and two outs with a chance maybe, just maybe, to make it interesting. An easy grounder to first put a quick stop to it. 

TWO UP

Connor Wong: Bit of another ‘Up’ by default for Wong here. Went 1-for-3 with a home run, Boston’s first in three games. When the offense has been as anemic as it has lately, you’ll take what you can get. Worked a nine-pitch at-bat and a walk before scoring again in the top of the ninth, too. 

Rob Refsnyder: Refsnyder had another good night against lefty pitching, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a walk. Like Wong, you’ll take any offense you can get right now. 

ONE ‘MEH’

Masataka Yoshida: Yoshida’s still been able to land some hits even despite the slumps surrounding him, finishing with a .250 average (3-for-12) in the series. Went 1-for-4 with a double and a run on Wednesday, but when the Sox could have really used a sign of life in the seventh, he chopped a groundout to first to end the momentum. 

THREE DOWN

James Paxton: Boston needed another quality start if it had any hope of having a chance, but Paxton, who struggled with his command, made it just 3.0 innings, allowing four hits, five runs (earned), three walks and two home runs. Again, a slip-up was going to happen, but still not good enough from Paxton. 

"I was falling behind, making mistakes in the middle of the plate, and they made me pay for it," Paxton said. "Command wasn't great. I wasn't able to keep the ball where I wanted to throw it. I was missing both sides of the plate and leaving the ball up for them with the breaking balls. ... You know, sometimes, you just don't have it. I was out there battling, trying to get outs, and it just wasn't happening for me tonight."

Rafael Devers: After a big Friday night in San Diego, Devers has gone cold, going just 2-for-his-last-19 with a pair of singles. Boston nearly had something going in the top of the first, but Devers tried to pull a double-steal after Wong struck out. He was out at home, and it wasn’t close. Just a case of trying to do too much when you’re pressing. His OBP is just .290. He hasn't worked a walk since May 9.

Jarren Duran: Few on the Red Sox are slumping quite like Duran, who was hitless (0-for-4) with a pair of strikeouts. Granted, the two strikes he was called out on were both balls. The first wasn't even close. Still, he is now just 1-for-his-last 24.

QUOTE OF NOTE

Alex Cora: "I think today was a lot better than the last two nights. We took our walks and hit some balls hard. You know, obviously, at the end of the day, it's how many runs we score, but overall, I thought the approach was much better."

NOTABLE

The Red Sox had a team batting average of .154 in the series. 

Starters had a 4.50 ERA in the three games, but the bullpen had a 5.63 ERA.

Trout and Ohtani homered in the same game for the 26th time.

UP NEXT

The Sox get a needed chance to reset on an off-day on Thursday before they’re back at it on Friday in Arizona for a three-game set with the Diamondbacks. LHP Chris Sale (4-2, 5.01 ERA) will battle RHP Brandon Pfaadt (0-1, 7.65 ERA).