BSJ Game Report: Guardians 10, Red Sox 3 - Ramírez owns Red Sox as Kluber struggles; Boston drops below .500

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

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Ramírez explodes as Sox fall below .500: José Ramírez went off with three home runs as part of a 3-for-5, five-RBI night to help power the Guardians to a 10-3 win over the Sox as Boston drops to 31-32 on the season. They have lost five of six and eight of 11. Ramírez hit two home runs batting right-handed, and the third came left-handed.

Kluber, pitching can’t get it going: After Matt Dermody trudged through four innings of work, Corey Kluber collapsed in 3.1 innings out of the bullpen, surrendering 11 hits and seven runs and allowing Cleveland to blow the game wide open in the sixth.

TURNING POINT

Bottom of the sixth: The Red Sox pulled within one run in the top of the sixth, thanks to a towering Triston Casas home run, but it was all undone in the bottom of the inning as the Guardians took a 3-2 lead and turned it to 8-2. Ramírez’s third homer of the game began a streak of eight straight hits for Cleveland in the sixth before Boston could finally record an out. 

TWO UP

Jarren Duran: Durran had a solid night at the plate when most of the lineup did not. Finished 2-for-5 with a pair of opposite-field singles and an RBI. 

Triston Casas: Casas also had a solid day at the dish, headlined by his solo shot in the sixth. Went 2-for-4. 

“For right now, my swing’s feeling really good,” Casas said. “I feel like I’m in a good, balanced deposition on a lot of pitches, which is why I’m taking swings at them. I do feel like I’m balanced and like I can do damage.”

FOUR DOWN

Matt Dermody: Honestly, not sure dealing with all the commotion around Dermody and his controversial Twitter usage was worth it to start a career minor-leaguer for just four innings. Allowed three runs on four hits with one walk, one strikeout and two home runs to Ramírez. DFA’d after the game. Hopefully, time to put that whole mess in the rearview.

Corey Kluber: Tough to watch Kluber struggle on a mound that saw him have so much success many moons ago. Gave up seven runs on 11 hits and a pair of home runs with one walk and one strikeout. Struggles were on full display in the sixth. Left far too many pitches over the plate for someone that has lost so much velocity. Credit to the veteran for eating innings, though. 

“It’s very tough [to watch] not only with him, but with anybody we have out there,” Alex Cora said. “Couldn’t buy a break. He gave us enough [innings]. We were able to kind of reset our bullpen and just be ready for tomorrow.”

Rafael Devers: The Red Sox need more out of Devers. Went 0-for-3 with a walk. Hit just 2-for-11 in the series.

Justin Turner: Another power bat that Boston needs more out of. Two straight 0-for4 nights at the dish. Just 1-for-13 in the three games in Cleveland. 

NOTABLE

The Red Sox were paltry with runners in scoring position once again, finishing 2-for-11. They stranded eight in all. They left five in scoring position with two outs.

Boston has dropped three straight series. They have lost 18 of their last 28 games.

QUOTE OF NOTE

“We got to play better baseball. I think that’s the most important thing at the end of the day,” Cora said. “We have to cancel the noise and start playing good baseball. That’s the most important thing. We haven’t done that in a while. It’s frustrating. It’s not the type of baseball we wanted to play, but here we are. We’re going to New York, we’ve got three games over there, and we better play well”

UP NEXT

The Red Sox will head to smoggy New York to face the Yankees for the first game of a three-game set. RHP Garrett Whitlock (2-2, 5.40 ERA) will face RHP Gerrit Cole (7-0, 2.82 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. Friday.