The Red Sox’s struggles at Fenway Park continued Saturday afternoon.
Boston fell to 8-16 at home this season after dropping a 4-2 decision to the Minnesota Twins. The Red Sox mounted a late rally in the ninth inning but ultimately came up short.
Willson Contreras sparked Boston’s ninth-inning rally with a leadoff single as the Red Sox trailed 4-1. Ceddanne Rafaela followed with a walk, giving the Red Sox two runners aboard with nobody out.
Nick Sogard, making the start at shortstop, then lifted a fly ball to right field for the first out before pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida grounded into a force play, leaving Boston down to its final out.
With the bases loaded, Twins reliever Andrew Morris lost the strike zone and issued consecutive walks to Connor Wong and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, forcing home a run and trimming Minnesota’s lead to 4-2.
Minnesota then turned to veteran left-hander Taylor Rogers to record the final out. Rogers fell behind Jarren Duran before freezing the Red Sox leadoff hitter with a full-count sweeper on the outside corner, ending the game and stranding the tying runs on base.
The Red Sox found themselves in an early hole after opener Jovani Morán struggled through the first inning.
The left-hander allowed two runs on a double and two singles before settling down, forcing Boston to play from behind for the remainder of the afternoon.
Morán’s struggles as an opener have become a stark contrast to his effectiveness in a traditional relief role. In three innings as an opener this season, he owns a 15.00 ERA, allowing five earned runs. As a reliever, however, Morán has been one of Boston’s most reliable bullpen arms, posting a 1.90 ERA while surrendering just five earned runs across 23 2/3 innings.
Given those splits, it’s fair to wonder whether the Red Sox may be better served keeping Morán in the role where he has been most successful rather than continuing to use him as an opener.
Unfortunately for Morán, he has been thrust into the opener role largely because of Brayan Bello’s struggles as a traditional starter.
Bello entered in the second inning Saturday and delivered one of his better outings of the season, tossing five innings without allowing an earned run. The right-hander scattered eight hits, walked one, and was charged with two unearned runs while helping stabilize the game after Minnesota took an early lead.
“He was hit-and-miss,” Chad Tracy said of Bello. “There were some stretches where he looked really good. I thought he battled. … We faced a lot of traffic in the first five innings, so to navigate through it and keep the game within reach was good.”
Bello ran into trouble in the fifth inning when Trevor Larnach and Austin Martin opened the frame with back-to-back singles. Moments later, Contreras committed his first error of the season, allowing Josh Bell to reach and load the bases with nobody out.
After retiring Kody Clemens on a fly ball to left field, he got Victor Caratini to lift a fly ball to right. Larnach tagged from third and broke for home as Wilyer Abreu fired a strike to Connor Wong at the plate.
Wong attempted a high swipe tag, but Larnach’s outstretched arm slipped across home plate just before the catcher’s glove made contact with his helmet. The Red Sox challenged the safe call, but after review, the ruling stood and Minnesota extended its lead to 3-1.
One batter later, Orlando Arcia lined a single to bring home another run, pushing the Twins’ advantage to 4-1 before Bello finally escaped the inning.
It marked the eighth time in Bello’s career that he
