Red Sox Notes: James Paxton’s First Struggles Easily Identifiable

James Paxton’s first two starts in a Red Sox uniform were superb, with Boston finally getting a taste of the success it envisioned when it signed the veteran 12 months prior to his eventual debut.

Paxton fell back down to earth in start No. 3, however.

The 34-year-old earned his first loss in over two years Wednesday when the Los Angeles Angels tagged him for five runs across three innings of work in an eventual series-clinching verdict in Anaheim, Calif. Paxton struggled to consistently hit his spots, walking three batters and giving up a pair of home runs to LA.

It was the first sign of trouble for Paxton this season, but those struggles were easily identifiable for the Red Sox.

“The stuff was okay, it’s just that the command was off,” Boston manager Alex Cora said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “… The first inning was electric. Then he walks Hunter (Renfroe) on four pitches, we get two outs, he walks the eight hitter and then the shortstop gets a fastball above the strike zone and he got to it. I think that was it, it was the command. I think the stuff was good.”

Paxton agreed with Cora’s takeaways from the performance, giving himself less credit for the positive moments.

“I wasn’t sharp. I was falling behind, making mistakes in the middle of the plate and they made me pay for it,” Paxton said postgame, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “… The command wasn’t great. I wasn’t able to keep the ball where I wanted to throw it. I was just missing both sides of the plate and leaving the ball up for them.”

The veteran left-hander will receive an extra day of rest as the Red Sox have an off day Thursday, perhaps setting him up for similar success to that of his first two starts — both of which came with at least five days of rest.

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Here are some more notes from Red Sox-Angels on Wednesday:

— The Red Sox set their rotation prior to the series finale against the Angels, opting to send Corey Kluber to the bullpen alongside former starter Nick Pivetta.

— Jarren Duran’s struggles continued, as the 26-year-old speedster went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in the loss. Cora spoke about the expected nature of his cold streak postgame.

— Mike Trout hit his 362nd career home run in the fourth inning, moving past New York Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio on the all-time home run list.

— Boston has done a solid job of winning series, going 10-5-1 on the season and doing exactly what Cora has stressed over the course of the last two seasons. The Red Sox just haven’t been very competitive in the series they don’t win, getting swept in 4-of-5 series losses this season.

— The Red Sox will move on to the final leg of their west-coast road trip Friday, meeting the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field for the first of three games. First pitch is set for 7:15 p.m. ET, following an hour of pregame coverage on NESN.