Red Sox Wrap: Freddie Freeman’s Eighth-Inning Grand Slam Sinks Boston

The Boston Red Sox opened up the second half of the season in losing fashion as they were dealt a 4-1 defeat by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.

The Red Sox fell to 53-43 while the Dodgers improved to 57-41.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Red Sox pitching dominated the Dodgers for seven innings, holding them to just two hits. But then things unraveled in the eighth inning.

Starting pitcher Nick Pivetta sure did his part by throwing six shutout innings, but trying to bridge the gap to closer Kenley Jansen proved difficult for Red Sox manager Alex Cora, especially with go-to setup options Chris Martin and Justin Slaten on the injured list.

That left Cora trying to get two high-leverage innings out of Zack Kelly, who was only effective for one frame. Brennan Bernardino replaced Kelly with one out in the eighth and immediately allowed a double to Shohei Ohtani that stayed inside the left-field line by a mere inches.

The Red Sox then decided to intentionally walk Will Smith to get a left-on-left matchup between Bernardino and Freeman. And Freeman delivered a knockout with one swing of his bat.

The loss encapsulated the current state of the Red Sox bullpen with relievers being called upon outside their usual roles and it hurt Boston dearly against the Dodgers.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Freeman provided the decisive hit of the game by swatting a grand slam 371 feet to right field. It was the only hit for the veteran first baseman.

— Pivetta held the Dodgers to just two hits and walked one in his stellar outing. He came up just shy of a third consecutive start with double-digit strikeouts, too, as he registered eight punch outs, including fanning Ohtani three times.

— Jarren Duran stayed red-hot by belting a solo shot to left-center field off Dodgers starter Gavin Stone in the top of the fifth inning. It was the 11th home run of the season for Duran.

UP NEXT
The final two games of the Red Sox and Dodgers series will be on national television with Saturday’s matchup airing on FOX. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET. The two sides will then play the series finale on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball.”

The Red Sox return to NESN airwaves Monday when they travel to Coors Field to take on the Colorado Rockies. That tilt is scheduled for 8:40 p.m.