BOSTON — The offense and pitching just can’t get it done at the same time.
The Red Sox scored five runs — which seems like a million given their run production lately — on 11 hits Friday, yet they suffered a 12-5 loss to the Los Angeles Angels in the teams’ series opener at Fenway Park.
Boston has dropped 13 of 20 games this month, during which the Sox have been outscored 85-49. The Red Sox have lost 20 of their last 32 games after starting the season 7-3.
GAME IN A WORD
Naturally.
All of the talk surrounding the Red Sox in recent days has been about their struggling offense. So naturally, immediately after promoting outfielder Rusney Castillo, it was the pitching that let down Boston.
The Red Sox grabbed a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning, but it was all downhill from there. The Angels scored nine runs in the fifth inning to seize control of the contest.
Boston undoubtedly made strides offensively in the series opener. It simply didn’t matter.
One has to wonder if the Red Sox soon will pay the price for not cashing in on their recent string of solid pitching performances.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
The Angels scored nine runs in the fifth inning.
The Red Sox took a 3-2 lead in the fourth when Brock Holt planted a two-run double off the Green Monster. Mike Napoli tried to score from first base, but Mike Trout gunned him down at the plate with an awesome throw. Third base coach Brian Butterfield definitely got a little too aggressive.
Boston’s good times didn’t last long. Rick Porcello desperately needed to provide a shutdown inning, yet he couldn’t even make it through the frame. The Angels chased Porcello with one out in the fifth.
Porcello walked Johnny Giavotella and Erick Aybar to begin the fifth. Trout then hit a ground ball that initially looked playable, but it deflected off Holt’s glove and out toward left field. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts corralled it and made an ill-advised throw to third that shot past Holt, allowing the Angels’ go-ahead run to score.
The floodgates opened from there. Chris Iannetta and Aybar homered in the Halos’ huge inning.
ON THE BUMP
— Porcello has been so good at times this season, including in his last start, when he outpitched Felix Hernandez. The right-hander crumbled Friday, though, which was even more frustrating for the Red Sox because their offense finally turned in a respectable performance.
Porcello was charged with seven earned runs on seven hits and three walks over 4 1/3 innings. He surrendered a home run to Albert Pujols in the fourth before coming apart at the seams in the fifth.
— Matt Barnes was knocked around. And that’s putting it lightly.
Barnes replaced Porcello with one out in the fifth. He issued a walk and surrendered two homers, though Aybar’s two-run blast followed an inexplicable fielding error by Castillo in right field. (Castillo straight-up dropped Marc Krauss’ routine fly ball.)
Barnes entered with a 1.08 ERA and had started to become a trusted member of Boston’s bullpen. His ERA ballooned to 3.12 in Friday’s outing, during which he allowed four runs (two earned) in a third of an inning.
— Robbie Ross Jr. calmed things down, relatively speaking. The left-hander still walked a tightrope but didn’t allow a run over 2 1/3 innings.
— Craig Breslow allowed a run in the eighth inning. He pitched a scoreless ninth.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Mike Napoli homered in the second inning. It was an absolute bomb to left-center field that almost cleared the Monster seats.
Napoli also flied out to the warning track in the eighth inning. He’s clearly starting to square up some balls after struggling at the plate for most of the season.
— Holt, playing third base in place of the injured Pablo Sandoval, reached base three times.
In addition to his two-run double, Holt walked in the seventh inning and singled in the eighth.
— Castillo went 1-for-4 with a run scored and two strikeouts in his 2015 major league debut.
Castillo, who singled in the seventh, made a bid for an infield hit in the eighth, but he was thrown out at first on a bang-bang play. The Red Sox challenged and the call was upheld.
— Dustin Pedroia had three hits. Two of them were infield hits.
— Hanley Ramirez was the only Red Sox starter without a hit. He exited the game before the sixth inning with left hand soreness.
Ramirez was hit on the hand by a pitch in the fourth inning.
— The Red Sox left the bases loaded in the seventh inning.
Boston scored two runs when Freese made an error at third base that allowed a run to score and Pedroia drilled an infield single that deflected off Angels starter Garrett Richards. But David Ortiz struck out swinging and Daniel Nava (batting right-handed) grounded into a double play to end the threat.
The Red Sox went 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.
TWEET OF THE GAME
Sums up Porcello’s fifth inning quite accurately.
[tweet https://twitter.com/TimBritton/status/601909978983735296Â align=’center’%5D
UP NEXT
The Red Sox and Angels will battle again Saturday night. Steven Wright is scheduled to face C.J. Wilson in the middle game of the teams’ three-game set.
