BOSTON — Instant reactions from the Red Sox’ 5-2 loss to the Dodgers at Fenway Park on Friday:
1) Boston dropped to 55-50 while the Dodgers improved to 61-43. The Red Sox are 2-5 in the second half. They have scored two or fewer runs in all five losses. The Red Sox brought the potential tying run to the plate in the ninth when Rob Refsnyder was up with two on base and two outs. But he grounded out to second.
2) The opponent has scored first in six of the Red Sox’ seven games coming out of the All-Star break. The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Tommy Edman’s two-out RBI single. They went ahead 3-0 in the third inning when Red Sox starter Brayan Bello walked Teoscar Hernández with the bases loaded and gave up an RBI sac fly to Andy Pages.
3) Bello pitched 5 ⅓ innings, allowing three runs, six hits and two walks while striking out five. He threw 98 pitches (63 strikes). He escaped a jam in the fifth with runners at the corners and one out. He struck out both Freddie Freeman and Hernández swinging.
4) Bello recorded 12 swings and misses, including five on the 15 changeups he threw. This is a significant improvement because he hasn’t had the same feel for his changeup, which was always considered his best secondary pitch. Opponents have batted .250 against the pitch this season compared to just .177 last year.
Manager Alex Cora said before the game, “He’s still not throwing the 40% changeup usage that we wanted three years ago. But this version of Brayan has been great.”
5) Connor Wong’s double to lead off the bottom of the third inning marked his first extra-base hit this season. He scored when Jarren Duran, the next batter, singled to right field. Boston cut it to 3-2 on Alex Bregman’s double that scored Duran.
6) Jorge Alcala has pitched well since Boston acquired him from the Twins on June 11, giving up just one earned run in 13 innings entering Friday. But he allowed a two-run homer on the second pitch he threw, making it 5-2 Dodgers in the eighth. Alcala had inherited a baserunner after Freeman led off the inning with a single against lefty Chris Murphy. Hernández took him deep 415 feet to center field.
7) The Dodgers and Red Sox will play the second game of their three-game series at 7:15 p.m. Saturday on FOX. It will be a battle of two of the game’s top left-handed pitchers. Clayton Kershaw (4-1, 3.27 ERA) will start for LA opposite Garrett Crochet (11-4, 2.19 ERA).
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