After struggling through their first 13 games of the season, the Boston Red Sox were looking to get back over the .500 mark Monday against the Los Angeles Angels. After winning the first three games, Boston was looking for a key early-season sweep at Fenway Park.
Mike Trout was not in the Angels’ lineup, but Shohei Ohtani was, and not only was he batting second, but he was also on the mound. He didn’t get the decision, but Los Angeles avoided the sweep with a 5-4 victory.
Here are three key moments from the Marathon Monday game at Fenway Park that went through two rain delays.
Hunter Renfroe sets the tone early
It didn’t take long for Hunter Renfroe to get the Angels a big lead. His three-run home run in the first inning off Brayan Bello gave Ohtani an early cushion after Ohtani singled and Taylor Ward was hit by a pitch.
wake up babe Renfroe just homered 🥱 #GoHalos pic.twitter.com/GyL9ewjY9n
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) April 17, 2023
It was a big blow for Bello after he struck out Zach Neto out to begin the game with an overpowering fastball. Bello’s afternoon came to an end after the second rain delay of almost two hours, but the Red Sox are going to need more from him going forward. You saw what his fastball can do against Neto but, after that, he lost the strike zone and it proved costly to the former Red Sox slugger. Renfroe’s homer is another reminder for Boston fans of what could have been after GM Chaim Bloom traded him following the 2021 season to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Red Sox miss a golden opportunity in the fourth inning
Trailing 5-1 in the fourth, the Red Sox still had some time to make up the deficit with Ohtani out of the game on the mound, but their missed opportunity turned out to be big.
Boston loaded the bases against Tucker Davidson after Rafael Devers doubled, and Masataka Yoshida and Triston Casas drew back-to-back walks with one out. Davidson, however, avoided any damage on the scoreboard when he got Kiké Hernandez to line out and Reese McGuire to fly out.
The Red Sox chipped away in the sixth inning with a pair of runs to cut the deficit to 5-3 on the strength of an Angels’ error and a Casas double, but the missed opportunity in the fourth inning was huge. They had Davidson on the ropes and failed to capitalize, something that has been a common theme early this season.
Angels’ closer Carlos Estévez escapes ninth-inning jam
If the fourth inning wasn’t frustrating enough for Alex Cora and his team, they had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the ninth, but again failed to come up with a big hit with the middle of their lineup stepping to the plate against Carlos Estévez.
Alex Verdugo singled to begin the inning and Raimel Tapia drew a one-out walk and appeared to be losing his control. Devers followed with an RBI single, but Estévez was able to rebound. He struck out Rob Refsnyder and got Yoshida to pop up to end the game. Adam Duvall was the Red Sox’s best hitter to begin the season, but he is out for four to six weeks with a wrist injury and his lack of presence in the lineup was felt for the first time in the weekend series.
The Angels head to the Bronx to take on the New York Yankees for a three-game series and the Red Sox remain at Fenway to host the Minnesota Twins for three. A sweep for Boston would have been huge to get them over .500 and feel good about themselves before hosting the Twins. As has been the case so far in 2023, they need more clutch hits in big moments, something that failed to get after Los Angeles did almost everything to hand them the game Monday.