The Boston Red Sox dropped their second-half opener in record-setting fashion on Friday, losing to the Toronto Blue Jays, 28-5, at Fenway Park.
Manager Alex Cora didn't shy away from acknowledging the brutal result while also providing a glimmer of optimism.
"Overall, not a great night. We gotta make adjustments. We gotta find a way," Cora said, as seen on NESN's postgame coverage. "It's one loss. It doesn't look great... it's not about what they did offensively, but what we didn't do defensively, on the mound. It was tough to watch. It was tough to be in the dugout to be honest with you... and they know it."
Nathan Eovaldi didn't help matters by getting off to a slow start on the mound. Eovaldi lasted just 2 2/3 innings, tossing 63 pitches and allowing six earned runs off eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts. The six earned runs is double his total allowed in two previous starts this year against the Blue Jays.
In 14 starts this season, Eovaldi has allowed the second-most home runs in his career following a full season of work. He's just five shy of his career-high (23) set in 2016 when he pitched for the New York Yankees.
Following a dissapointing outing on Friday, Eovaldi began his postgame press conference with an optimistic outlook.
"I felt a little bit better with my mechanics today. Obviously I'm still working on a few things. I felt like I attacked the zone really well today," Eovaldi told reporters, as seen on NESN's postgame coverage. "I gotta be able to turn the page and go back to attacking the hitters."
Here are more notes from Friday's Red Sox-Blue Jays game:
-- Boston has a -47 run differential over their last three games. That's an all-time worst within a span of three games in the Modern Era (since 1900), per ESPN Stats and Info.
-- Eovaldi has allowed 18 home runs this season. He is currently tied for fifth in most home runs allowed this season by a pitcher in Major League Baseball, and second in the AL.
-- Kevin Gausman is 3-0 with an 1.38 ERA in four starts against the Red Sox. His 10 strikeouts collected on Friday tie for the most when facing Boston hitters this season.
-- Friday's loss is the eighth this season in 11 games against the Blue Jays.
-- The Red Sox will look to shake Friday's historic loss off on Saturday. First pitch from Fenway Park is set for 4:10 p.m. ET, and you can catch the game, along with an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.
