BOSTON — Anthony Ranaudo’s 25th birthday wasn’t quite as celebratory as he would have liked.
Ranaudo stumbled through the worst start of his young career Tuesday as the Boston Red Sox were dealt a 4-1 loss by the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park. It was the second consecutive loss for Ranaudo, who had won three straight starts to open his major league career.
Let’s see brush up on some notes before the teams conclude their three-game series Wednesday afternoon.
— Ranaudo surrendered three home runs while lasting just 3 1/3 innings.
Alejandro De Aza was responsible for two homers. Adam Jones connected on the other one — the second of back-to-back jacks in the third inning — and it traveled an estimated 429 feet onto Lansdowne Street.
“Those kinds of pitches aren’t going to fly here, especially late in the season,” said Ranaudo, who acknowledged he left some pitches up in the zone. “Fatigue might be setting in. I’ve got to be a little bit sharper about some things, make some better adjustments quicker. Obviously they’re making adjustments to me now. It’s my job to make adjustments to them.”
Ranaudo, who allowed four earned runs on six hits overall, snapped a streak of seven straight wins by Red Sox starters on their birthday. The last Red Sox starter to lose on his birthday prior to Ranaudo was Roger Clemens on Aug. 4, 1994.
Ranaudo has thrown a career-high 168 2/3 innings between the majors and Triple-A Pawtucket this season. He has allowed eight homers in 28 2/3 innings with Boston.
— Matt Barnes tossed three scoreless innings of relief in a very impressive major league debut.
Barnes, who was called up Monday, became the first Red Sox pitcher with a scoreless outing of at least three innings in his big league debut since Vaughn Eshelman in 1995.
The 24-year-old became the ninth different Red sox player to make his major league debut this season — the third pitcher alongside Ranaudo and Edwin Escobar.
— Xander Bogaerts knocked in Boston’s only run with his 10th homer of the season in the fourth inning.
Bogaerts became the first Red Sox player age 21 or younger to post a double-digit home run total since Dwight Evans hit 10 homers in 1973. Bogaerts is hitting .385 (15-for-39) over his last 10 games.
“Much more balanced. Better timing. A swing that he’s been known for,” Farrell said of Bogaerts’ recent improvement. “He went through a long period of time where he was lunging. That has been adjusted, finally. He looks very comfortable and has been driving the baseball consistently at the plate.”
— Mookie Betts batted leadoff with Brock Holt still sidelined because of illness. He reached base twice.
Betts is hitting .375 (15-for-40) over his last 10 games.
— Will Middlebrooks left the game with an illness before the start of the sixth inning.
Middlebrooks was replaced by Carlos Rivero, who collected the first two hits of his major league career.
— Jemile Weeks scooped up his first hit at Fenway as a member of the Red Sox.
— Dustin Pedroia sat out with left hand soreness. The second baseman could be shut down for the season because of the injury. A decision is expected as early as Wednesday.
