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BOSTON — Instant reactions from the Red Sox’ 5-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday night at Fenway Park.
1) The Red Sox fell behind 4-0 in top of the first inning, and from there, the team’s 15-game winning streak was doomed. Fenway was full of anticipation after the Sox had tied the club record only hours earlier in the first part of a day-night doubleheader, but starter Eduardo Rivera’s first-inning struggles took the air out of the ballpark. Boston’s only run came in the bottom of the fourth inning.
2) Simply put, it seemed as if the moment was too big for Rivera. Plugged into duty when Ranger Suarez was deemed unavailable due to lingering soreness and general illness, Rivera was off from the beginning and couldn’t get out of the first inning. Command was an issue, with two walks and a wild pitch and Rivera needed 41 pitches to record just two outs. Rivera is a talented young pitcher, but as happens with guys with big frames, he seems to have difficulty repeating his delivery at times and Wednesday, that came at a most inopportune time for the Red Sox.
3) Given the stakes, it’s not surprising that Wednesday represented a tough ticket. An hour before game-time, get-in prices were nearing $300 for the chance to see history made. The ballpark was jammed full, with an announced attendance of 38,005, one of the largest crowds of the season.
4) Jarren Duran has improved his play in left field considerably this season and is handling the position far better than he did a year ago. Still, there are holes in his defensive game. In Baltimore’s four-run first, Duran foolishly attempted to make a leaping catch on a ball that was almost halfway up the wall by Jonathan Rodriguez. Duran had no chance to make the grab, and by jumping at the base of the wall, left himself in poor position to field the carom. That, in turn, allowed baserunner Dylan Beavers to score all the way from first. Had Duran simply turned and waited for the carom, he could have held Beavers at third.
5) The fact that the Red Sox went with rookie Eduardo Rivera as their starter says a lot about what they think of Brayan Bello — at least in terms of starting. Rivera has all of 9.1 innings of big league experience and yet, with a chance for the team to break an 80-year-old record, they chose him over Bello, who was the team’s second-best starter a year ago. Some of that may have had to do with the fact the Orioles had roughed up Bello (17.28 ERA in two starts earlier this year). But still, it speaks volumes about their confidence level.
6) That said, Bello pitched well when called upon, giving the Red Sox 5.1 innings of scoreless relief. The innings weren’t always clean and he had to fight through some traffic. But he made the big pitches when he had to make them. In the first half of his outing, he got some swing-and-miss, recording four strikeouts in the span of five at-bats from the third inning into the fourth. But he also used his sinker and cutter to get a lot of groundouts. If nothing else, Bello showed, again, that he can be counted on for some bulk appearances out of the bullpen.
7) The one run scored by the Red Sox was their lowest output since June 30, which, coincidentally, was also their last loss. They got little going against Baltimore starter Kye Bradish, who was signed to a contract extension by the Orioles only a week ago. Other than a couple of Wall-ball singles from Andruw Monsterio and a double to the gap by Willson Contreras, the Red Sox didn’t hit a lot of balls hard against Bradish, and with few baserunners — four hits through six innings — and a four-run deficit early, they weren’t in position to play the brand of small ball that’s worked for them.
8) The Red Sox are off Thursday and host the start of a three-game series with Toronto starting Friday. The pitching matchup is undetermined for both teams. Perhaps, on the third try, Ranger Suarez will be activated and return to the rotation at 7:10 p.m.
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