The Boston Red Sox lost the second game of a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels with a 10-5 final at Fenway Park on Wednesday in extra innings.
Boston fell to 10-15 on the season while Los Angeles improved to 16-10.
You can view the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
It doesn’t matter how Garrett Whitlock is utilized, as long as he records as many innings as he can handle. That said, the Red Sox appear to have an ace on their hands if they want one. If not, Boston will have a multi-inning reliever capable of coming into the highest leverage point of the game twice a week.
Either way, the Whitlock extension is looking better by the day. Manager Alex Cora might have tipped his cap by allowing the former Rule-5 Draft pick to reach career-highs with five full innings and 78 pitches.
It was also apparent that PitchCom made Whitlock work even faster. The device appeared to allow him to get into even more of a groove than usual, which is really saying something.
It’s a shame that his start was spoiled by a complete bullpen meltdown from Hansel Robles, Jake Diekman — who had no control — and Matt Barnes, who has not looked like himself this season. Hirokazu Sawamura allowed a three-run bomb as well, but by that point, the game was out of hand.
The Red Sox got a great start from Whitlock and timely hitting through eight… and lost by five runs.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Whitlock had a perfect game through 4 1/3 innings. He finished five frames with two hits allowed, as many earned runs and nine strikeouts. A two-run blast by Angels catcher Max Stassi spoiled a near-flawless start. Regardless, Whitlock overpowered the Los Angeles lineup and kept the Sox in the game.
— Trevor Story hit a two-RBI double to open the scoring in the third inning. After the Angels tied it up in the fifth, he hit another RBI double to take the lead again.
— Taylor Ward hit a go-ahead, two-run home run to take lead in the 10th, spoiling a Xander Bogaerts go-ahead homer of his own.
WAGER WATCH
The middle game of the Red Sox-Angels series had -105 odds to hit the Over set at 8.5 runs on DraftKings Sportsbook. A $100 bet on the Over paid out $195.24.
ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox will play the final game of the series against the Angels at Fenway Park on Thursday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET following an hour of pregame coverage, and you can watch it all on NESN.
