After the devastating loss to the Rangers on Wednesday night, Red Sox manager Alex Cora emphasized that there is one thing in particular that his team needs to do better.
They had to stop allowing so many home runs.
Since the All-Star break, no team has allowed more home runs than the Red Sox. Through Thursday, they had allowed a total of 52 home runs in 24 games — more than two per game — and that trend continued in the team’s 5-1 loss in the series opener to the Baltimore Orioles.
Nick Pivetta returned to the Red Sox rotation after missing his last start due to arm fatigue. He pitched well but couldn’t keep the ball in the ballpark. He allowed three runs in five innings, and although he recorded six strikeouts and allowed just three hits, two of them were home runs.
Boston took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning on a solo hit by Wilyer Abreu, who hit his 14th of the season and his second in as many days from Camden Yards to Eutaw Street, but the Orioles came right back with a two-run home run by Gunnar Henderson. Pivetta was unlucky when a ball that was supposed to be a strike three against Anthony Santander was ruled a strike four, and Henderson immediately took advantage with his 31st home run of the season.
Cedric Mullins followed with a solo home run to right field in the fifth inning, but overall manager Alex Cora was pleased with Pivetta’s performance after a nearly two-week layoff.
“He was good,” Cora said. “I think material-wise he was really good, he gave us five and it was a good night for him.”
Offensively, Boston couldn’t do much against Baltimore starter Zach Eflin. The late-trading-deadline addition allowed one run on five hits in six innings while recording eight strikeouts, and at one point he struck out 11 of 12 batters from the top of the first to the bottom of the fourth inning.
“He’s a good pitcher, he’s got a lot of weapons,” Cora said of Eflin. “He knows how to move the ball in the zone and he’s done a pretty good job.”
The Red Sox didn’t fare much better against the Orioles bullpen, which limited the club to two hits in three scoreless innings.
A highlight for Boston was the MLB debut of right-hander Chase Shugart. The 27-year-old was called up on Monday but hadn’t played a game until he was called up with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning. By that point, the Orioles had already scored a run off Bailey Horn on a Santander double and an RBI single by Ryan Mountcastle, but Shugart got Adley Rutschman to fly out before throwing out Jackson Holliday to end the inning.
Shugart ended up throwing 2.2 innings, allowing an RBI double to Colton Cowser in the seventh inning, but otherwise stayed in control. His family also made it to Baltimore and sat in the stands for his first major league appearance after six years of hard work in the minors.
“Nobody can take that away from him, he’s a major league player,” Cora said. “Whatever happens in the future happens, but he’ll never forget this day.”
But aside from Shugart and his family, Thursday was a night to forget for the Red Sox.
With Thursday’s loss, the Red Sox are now 1-6 this season against the Orioles, who outscored the club 48-23 in those seven games. Boston falls to 63-57 this season and is now 2.5 games behind the Kansas City Royals for the final wild card spot in the American League.
Boston doesn’t get a break on Friday as the Orioles send their star and Cy Young candidate Corbin Burnes (12-4, 2.71) to the mound. Barring any unexpected developments, the Red Sox will likely activate Cooper Criswell from the COVID-19 injured list and have him start his first game since July 23.
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