Red Sox Notes: Braves Outlast Boston’s Pitching Staff

The Boston Red Sox could not contain the talented lineup of the Atlanta Braves in Tuesday night’s 8-3 loss at Fenway Park.

Atlanta drew Kutter Crawford for Boston, who sought a bounce-back outing reminiscent of his strong start to the season. The right-hander struck out five and allowed just one earned run entering the sixth inning. That’s when the Braves broke through and got the game-changing swing when Ozzie Albies lifted a three-run home run to right field.

“With that lineup, they’re one swing away from scoring multiple runs,” Alex Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “He was OK, but the walk put him in a bad spot. They put the ball in play.”

Outside of walks and the occasional missed location such as the homer, Crawford competed for the Red Sox on Tuesday night. The regression from the Boston starter comes with the flow of a season on the mound.

“Other than that sixth inning, I was throwing the ball pretty well,” Crawford told reporters, per NESN’s postgame coverage. “… Just gotta execute better pitches. That one to Albies was kind of out over the plate.”

“Hitters are getting better with the more they play,” Cora added. “They get that feeling, right? Conditions are tougher early on. (Crawford’s) location was not great. The fastball velocity is down. Still, the stuff is good. Today, he had a good feel for the cutter. The sweeper was good.”

The Red Sox need their best out of the healthy production remaining on the roster. Getting a turnaround from Crawford will be among those priorities.

Here are more notes from Tuesday night’s Braves-Red Sox game:

— Dominic Smith homered with Red Sox Hall of Famer David Ortiz in the NESN booth.

"That's what happens when Papi's in the building!" 🙌@davidortiz | #RedSox pic.twitter.com/6Vm9uH3CrT

— NESN (@NESN) June 5, 2024

— 2018 World Series champion Chris Sale returned to Fenway Park as a member of the Braves. The Red Sox honored him after the first inning with a video tribute.

— Atlanta’s Max Fried set a career-high with 13 strikeouts against the Red Sox.

— Anderson tallied at least three innings in a relief appearance for the fourth time this season.

— The Red Sox fall to 6-11 against left-handed starting pitchers in 2024.

— Boston dropped to 6-14 in series openers.

— The Red Sox wrap up the homestand when they host the Braves on Wednesday afternoon. First pitch is set for 1:35 p.m. ET. You can catch the game, plus an hour of first pitch, on NESN.