The visiting Los Angeles Angels will be attempting to sweep the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday afternoon when the teams complete their three-game series.
The Angels prevailed 7-6 on Monday and 4-3 in 10 innings on Tuesday, which left Boston with a 6-17 record in one-run games this season. The Red Sox have lost 13 of their past 15 games decided by one run.
Defensive miscues contributed to both defeats against the Angels, as Boston committed two errors on Monday and three on Tuesday.
“We gave them chances to do what they did — to win the game,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “We keep making the same mistakes. We’re not getting better. At one point, (it) has to be on me, I guess. Right? I’m the manager, so, you know, I gotta keep pushing them to be better. They’re not getting better.
“I’ll be very honest about it, very open about it. You get frustrated, but at one point, it’s like, OK, what are we gonna do? What’s going to change? Because we keep doing the same thing. We can keep talking about one-run losses … 17, 18, whatever it is. … Is it effort, preparation, attention to detail? I have no idea. I watched the game. I was like, wow, this is real. It’s frustrating.”
The Red Sox have committed 53 errors this season, the most of any major league team. They have made 10 errors in their past six games.
“Routine ground balls for double plays we don’t turn,” Cora said. “We throw to the wrong bases, we (miss) cutoff guys. (Pitcher fielding practice) we’re horrible. There’s a lot of bad right now.”
By contrast, Los Angeles played excellent defense in the Tuesday win. The Angels turned three double plays and threw a runner out at the plate.
“The good thing is we didn’t make any errors,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “We kept putting the pressure on them, and they made some mistakes and we took advantage of it.”
Reid Detmers pitched a scoreless 10th inning Tuesday to earn his first major league save. The Angels used closer Kenley Jansen in the ninth.
The Los Angeles bullpen struggled during the season’s first two months, but the team’s relievers have a 2.78 ERA in the past 16 games. Detmers has allowed one run in his past 11 innings across 10 appearances.
“It’s been fun,” Detmers said. “That’s kind of one thing we take pride in — going out there and getting zeros. Yeah, we’ve had some bumps in the road, but you just gotta get over the hump.”
Los Angeles will send Jose Soriano (4-5, 3.41 ERA) to the mound Wednesday. The right-hander fired six scoreless innings in a 4-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday.
Soriano took a loss the only time he has faced the Red Sox, allowing three runs in a three-inning relief outing on April 5, 2024.
Right-hander Lucas Giolito (1-1, 4.78 ERA) is Boston’s probable starter. He is coming off a no-decision on Friday at Atlanta, where he yielded one run in 4 2/3 innings.
Giolito has a 4-2 record with a 5.63 ERA in 10 career appearances (59 1/3 innings) against the Angels.
–Field Level Media
