The Boston Red Sox Monday, May 17, 2021

* The Boston Globe

Shohei Ohtani’s two-run homer lifts Angels over Red Sox in series finale

Julian McWilliams

Matt Barnes has been virtually unhittable all year.

Barnes came into Sunday’s contest against the Los Angeles Angels with a 1.89 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 19 innings. In converting all nine of his save opportunities, he’d held opponents to just one hit (1 for 29, .034), never mind a run.

Yet with two outs in the ninth and the Sox leading by one, the Angels’ heavy hitters put a pause to Barnes’s run.

Mike Trout reached first, on a bloop single to right, which kept the inning alive. Then Shohei Ohtani delivered a go-ahead homer to right that stayed fair just inside the Pesky Pole and ultimately denied the Red Sox a series sweep, 6-5, at Fenway.

“I threw a fastball in to Ohtani he was ready for,” Barnes said. “I was trying to throw a fastball up and just kind of pulled it in.

“I personally think he’s the most physically gifted baseball player I’ve ever seen,” Barnes continued. “He’s a special player. He’s incredibly talented. Hopefully he stays healthy and has a long career.”

The context of how Barnes and the Sox got to that point is important.

Manager Alex Cora said that he didn’t think reliever Adam Ottavino was sharp in the eighth inning. With one out, Jared Walsh singled and Taylor Ward walked. José Iglesias lined out to Hunter Renfroe in deep right field for the second out, but Walsh tagged up and went to third.

Cora had seen enough. He decided to go to his most reliable bullpen arm, and Barnes struck out Phil Gosselin, protecting the one-run lead.

In the ninth, Barnes breezed through his first two hitters. He induced a Kurt Suzuki groundout, then struck out José Rojas. The next hitter was Trout, who fought off a 96-mph fastball high and tight and found greenery in right for a bloop single — his only hit of the series ending a 0-for-18 slump.

“I thought the game was over. I’ll be honest with you, I thought we had somebody who was going to be camped under it‚” said Barnes on Trout’s contact. “But we didn’t. And then that happens sometimes. It is what it is.”

The Red Sox had an opportunity in the bottom of the ninth with two on and one out, but Angels pitcher Mike Mayers answered his two walks by striking out Jonathan Araúz and Michael Chavis to end it.

The Angels took a 4-0 lead off Red Sox starter Nate Eovaldi in the second inning, though Eovaldi battled to last five, allowing six hits. His offense bailed him out. Araúz doubled home a run to cap three leadoff hits off José Quintana in the third, then the Sox went ahead with four runs of their own in the fifth, highlighted by Rafael Devers hitting a three-run homer.

“Some good and some bad,” Cora said regarding the series. “We just got to keep working. This was a good series. We obviously were disappointed we didn’t finish it but overall, it was a good one.”

As for Barnes, don’t expect him to lose his aggression. He’s found success in trusting his stuff, throwing strikes over the heart of the plate, daring opponents to hit it. This time, Ohtani got him on the first pitch he saw.

“I don’t consider my run over,” Barnes said. “I just gave up a couple runs today and lost the game. This doesn’t change a thing. I’m going to continue to go out there. I feel good. I’m going to continue attacking the zone.”

The Red Sox (25-17) open up a six-game road trip Tuesday in Dunedin, Fla., against the Blue Jays.

Michael Chavis still chasing better zone control, perhaps all the way back to Worcester

Julian McWilliams

Michael Chavis was 2 for 5 with a double in Sunday’s 6-5 loss to the Angels. His one-out single in the fifth played a key role in the Red Sox coming back from a 4-1 deficit, when Rafael Devers followed it with a three-run homer.

But the game didn’t come without its typical Chavis outcomes, with all three of his outs coming by the strikeout. José Quintana fanned Chavis twice. In the first inning, Chavis chased a pitch above the zone for strike three. In the third, Chavis chased three pitches that were also above the zone, and in the ninth, Chavis swung through three Mike Mayers pitches at the top of the zone.

As the Sox begin a six-game road trip against the Blue Jays and Phillies following a Monday off-day, it appears Chavis’s immediate future is a trip back to Worcester. Kiké Hernández is working his way back from a hamstring injury and could be activated off the injured list ahead of Tuesday’s game.

Plate discipline and fastballs above his hands remain a weak part of Chavis’s game. He entered the day chasing pitches outside the zone 51 percent of the time. On fastballs at or above the zone, Chavis is 5 for 45, with 39 strikeouts.

When asked what Chavis’s future held before Sunday’s game, Cora didn’t intimate too much.

“I hate to look ahead,” Cora said. “There’s some people that are coming off the IL. Let’s take it day by day, you know, the day everybody was excited to win a World Series, it’s more than 26 guys. You have to make moves based on your roster and the people that you have. We’ll see what the future brings, but the future for him is today.”

Christian Arroyo’s brief setback as he recovers from a left hand contusion might buy Chavis a few more games on the big-league roster. There’s a strong possibility Jonathan Araúz is instead optioned once Hernández returns.

As for Chavis, he’s noted a couple of times that he wasn’t able to work on those weaknesses prior to the start of the WooSox season, in part, because they didn’t have umpires. Often, it would be just another player calling balls and strikes.

“It was difficult to get working,” Chavis said. “I wasn’t able to get my routine going just because we weren’t playing legitimate games. We didn’t have umpires, and the one thing I was told to do down there was focus on zone recognition.”

If that’s the case, the lack of improvement has certainly been evident the last week or so.

Garrett Whitlock returns

Garrett Whitlock was activated off the COVID-restricted list ahead of Sunday’s game. Whitlock recently felt symptoms after receiving his second COVID-19 vaccine shot. Colten Brewer was optioned back to Triple A . . . Hernández played seven innings in the outfield Sunday against Syracuse and hit two home runs, including a grand slam in his second at-bat. He finished 2 for 4 with 5 RBIs . . . Arroyo hit off the tee again, but won’t be with the Red Sox for the start of the road trip and will head to Worcester instead to get treatment and continue his progression. The Red Sox hope Arroyo can begin taking batting practice Wednesday.

If the Red Sox want to stay in first in the AL East, they’re going to need help in the bullpen

Alex Speier

As the ball hung in the air for what seemed an eternity, Matt Barnes anticipated the celebration. After the Red Sox closer struck out the final batter of the eighth and recorded two quick outs in the ninth, this Mike Trout pop-up seemed like the conclusion of a satisfying 5-4 victory.

“When it left his bat,” said Barnes, “I thought the game was over.”

But it wasn’t. The 225-foot fly ball fell between right fielder Marwin Gonzalez, second baseman Michael Chavis, and first baseman Bobby Dalbec for a single, and on the next pitch, the incomparable — unless comparable to Babe Ruth? — Shohei Ohtani jumped on a fastball on the inner half and snuck it inside the Pesky Pole for the game-winning homer.

“That’s the beauty of playing here,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora after the 6-5 Angels win. “Trout makes contact, the ball finds green, then Ohtani gets a fastball and wraps it around the Pesky Pole. It looks tough, it looks like [Barnes] struggled, but he actually pitched well.”

Of course, if all had gone according to script, Barnes never would have had to face Trout. The mix of misfortune and mislocation against the two Angels stars could have been avoided had the previous inning unfolded differently.

With the Sox ahead, 5-4, Cora summoned Adam Ottavino — holding righthanded hitters to 3-for-32 (.094) entering Sunday — for the eighth to face Angels cleanup hitter Anthony Rendon, a righty. Behind Rendon was lefty Jared Walsh, but four other righties at the bottom of the Halos’ order seemed easy pickings for the 35-year-old.

But after Ottavino struck out Rendon, he gave up a single to Walsh and walked righthander Taylor Ward. He nearly gave up the lead to José Iglesias, who hit a rocket to the gap in right-center, but Ottavino was bailed out by an excellent running catch from Gonzalez.

At that point, with a walk and almost an extra-base hit allowed to a righty, Cora decided he’d seen enough. He summoned Barnes with two outs in the eighth, looking for the righthander’s second save of more than three outs this year.

“I don’t think Adam was sharp today,” said Cora.

Such an assessment wasn’t isolated. There have been few days this year when Ottavino has looked like a lockdown setup option. Sunday marked the 17th time this year that the Sox have asked Ottavino to face at least three batters. He’s allowed at least one baserunner in 14 (82 percent) of those appearances.

Ottavino does an excellent job of avoiding hard contact, with no homers allowed in 75 plate appearances. The Sox continue to see him as a strong setup option.

“His stuff is really good,” said Cora. “We’re counting on him to get outs in the seventh and the eighth whenever we need him. We’re going to keep trusting him. He’s one of the best ones.”

But Ottavino’s longstanding control issues, struggles against lefties (.333/.455/444 against him), and shrinking strikeout rates against righties — 26.2 percent, down for the third straight year from his career- high of 39.4 percent in 2018 — mean that more often than not, Ottavino flirts with trouble, if not barreling headlong into it. After all, if Cora trusted Ottavino as “one of the best ones,” he probably wouldn’t have Barnes warming up behind him in the eighth inning.

The Red Sox remain in an enviable spot — in first place in the AL East after more than a quarter of the season, with a 1½-game advantage over the Blue Jays heading into the series between the two teams in Dunedin, Fla., starting on Tuesday.

But their bullpen shortcomings have been apparent this month. The relievers have been charged with six losses in May (most in MLB) and five blown saves (tied for second most). At a time when teams rely on waves of relievers to dominate the final innings, the Red Sox lack anyone beyond Barnes to offer calm in the game’s most critical moments.

It wasn’t hard on Sunday for Barnes (1-1, 9 saves) to shrug off his first blown save of the year.

“In my job, I have to be perfect almost every single time. And when I’m not, it gets seen a little more in the public’s eye, which is totally fine. That’s what I signed up for,” said Barnes. “But I’m going to get back on the horse on Tuesday and this doesn’t change a thing.”

Barnes has pitched in a way to give such a claim credibility. But beyond him, the questions are growing rather than disappearing.

At a time when trade conversations are just starting to take place, the Red Sox likely will have to wait to see if a solution comes from within, whether greater reliability from Ottavino, or higher-leverage roles for Josh Taylor or Hirokazu Sawamura, or perhaps through a more traditional (and frequent) relief workload for Garrett Whitlock. Perhaps Ryan Brasier, who’s starting to throw off a mound while rehabbing his calf injury, will get healthy and claim the late-innings role the Sox envisioned for him entering the year.

But for now, the Red Sox look like a team that will be worth supplementing in mid-season through the trade market, and whose ability to stay in the race may depend on the ability to find a truly dominant complement to Barnes in the bullpen.

* The Boston Herald

Shohei Ohtani hits two-out, go-ahead homer off Matt Barnes in the ninth as Red Sox fall to Angels

Jason Mastrodonato

Matt Barnes has been challenging hitters to handle his high-90s heaters and knee-bending curveballs all year.

And until Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani came to town, it had been working wonderfully.

Sunday afternoon, Barnes took over with a one-run lead and couldn’t handle the Angels’ stars in the ninth inning. Trout hit a two-out, bloop single to set up Ohtani, who got a 97-mph heater inside and wrapped a two-run homer around Pesky’s Pole.

Trout’s single ended an 0-for-18 skid and Ohtani’s homer propelled the Halos to a 6-5 win as they narrowly avoided a three-game sweep at Fenway Park.

It was Barnes’ first blown save of the year. The Red Sox had previously been 21-0 this year when leading after eight innings.

The takeaways:

1. Manager Alex Cora brought Barnes in the game with two outs in the eighth after Adam Ottavino once again struggled in the set-up role. Ottavino put runners on the corners for Barnes, who struck out Phil Gosselin to clean up the mess. Barnes looked strong in the ninth, too, until Trout’s well-placed blooper in right-center and Ohtani’s beautiful swing for his 12th homer of the year.

2. Nathan Eovaldi didn’t look sharp. He fell apart in the second inning, allowing four runs to score and six men to reach base to put the Sox in a quick 4-0 hole. He did finish five innings of work, but moved his ERA to 4.50, the worst ERA of any Red Sox starter this year. Rafael Devers bailed him out with a three- run, lead-changing homer in the fifth and put Eovaldi in line for the win before Barnes blew it.

3. J.D. Martinez had the defensive play of the game with a perfect throw to nail Ohtani at home to end the fifth inning. Jared Walsh smoked one off the Green Monster and Ohtani tried scoring from second, but Martinez threw a bullet that bounced once and easily beat Ohtani, who was tagged while standing up. Marwin Gonzalez also made some nice defensive plays, corralling a pair of great catches in right field as he continues to dazzle with the glove.

Red Sox Notebook: Kiké Hernandez nearing return as Sox bench searches for depth

Jason Mastrodonato

For the second time in a week, the Red Sox’ lack of depth showed itself in a crucial late-game situation.

With the game on the line and the Sox down a run in the ninth, manager Alex Cora had to choose between Jonathan Arauz and Franchy Cordero at the plate.

Between the two of them, they’ve hit .225 with a combined 13 homers in 448 big league at-bats. They’ve combined to hit .174 without a homer this year.

With Cordero the last man on the bench, Arauz was the choice to hit with runners on first and second and one out in the ninth. Arauz struck out. Michael Chavis struck out behind him and the Sox lost to the Angels, 6-5.

“If anything, if people are going to question something about the ninth inning, it’s why Marwin (Gonzalez) didn’t bunt,” Cora said. “There’s no outs and a man on first. But first and second, one out, I don’t think we are gonna (bunt).”

The Sox were in a similar situation on Wednesday against the A’s, when Arauz was up and Cordero was the only man on the bench in the ninth inning of a close ballgame. Arauz struck out then, too, and the Sox lost, 4-1.

Soon, Cora will have more options.

Kiké Hernandez hit a pair of homers, including the first grand slam in Woo Sox history, during a Triple-A rehab assignment on Sunday. If his injured hamstring was feeling good Sunday night, the Sox were considering activating him in time for their series with the Blue Jays starting on Tuesday.

Christian Arroyo (hand) still needs more time to recover. He’ll try to take batting practice Wednesday and the team will go from there.

There’s another interesting depth option to consider: Danny Santana.

The 30-year-old utility man, who hit 28 homers with the Rangers in 2019, is still on a rehab assignment with Worcester, where he homered while playing left field on Saturday.

“He’s doing well, he’s playing well, moving well,” Cora said. “He stole a base. Timing-wise, he’s there. He’s almost there. We’ve been moving him around all over the place, he’s moving well. We were looking for versatility in the offseason and then he was there at the end. I think Chaim (Bloom) and the front office did an outstanding job recognizing players and this is a guy, it gives us another alternative, that’s see where it takes us.”

Chavis’ future unclear

There’s a roster crunch coming when Hernandez and Arroyo are set to return.

Arauz and Chavis are the two who were called up to take their places. Chavis went 2-for-5 with a double Sunday and is hitting .259 with a .741 OPS since he was recalled. Arauz is 2-for-8 since he was recalled.

There was some thought Chavis could challenge Bobby Dalbec at first base, but it sounds like Cora hasn’t thought about that.

“I hate to look ahead,” the manager said. “There are some people who are coming back from the injured list; let’s take it day by day. The other day, everybody was excited about him hitting a home run and hitting two doubles. To win a World Series, it’s more than 26 guys. You have to make moves based on your roster, and the people that you have available.

“The way I put, he’s leading off today. Tomorrow’s an off-day. We’ll see what the future brings. The future for him is today. The future for this team is today. We’ll leave it at that.”

JD’s arm strikes again

J.D. Martinez had the defensive play of the game with a perfect throw to nail Shohei Ohtani at home to end the fifth inning on Sunday.

Jared Walsh smoked one off the Green Monster and Ohtani tried scoring from second, but Martinez threw a bullet that bounced once and easily beat Ohtani, who was tagged while standing up.

Martinez has two outfield assists in just eight games on defense this year.

Gonzalez also made some nice defensive plays, corralling a pair of great catches in right field as he continues to dazzle with the glove.

Matt Barnes at fault in Red Sox’ loss, but Adam Ottavino’s struggles much more concerning

Jason Mastrodonato

Baseball is a weird game.

That was Red Sox closer Matt Barnes’ message after his first blown save of the year on Sunday, when he served up a two-run shot to Shohei Ohtani in the ninth inning of the Sox’ 6-5 loss to the Angels.

It was weird to see how this one unfolded, after Mike Trout hit a two-out bloop single before Ohtani went deep.

But the problem wasn’t Barnes. It was his set-up man, Adam Ottavino. And it’s been a concern for most of this year.

While the highlights will show the Ohtani blast, his 12th of the year on a first-pitch heater that Barnes mistakenly left over the middle-inside part of the plate, Barnes’ aggression could be a good lesson for Ottavino.

Sunday, Ottavino threw just nine of his 19 pitches for strikes as he walked one, gave up a single and forced manager Alex Cora to call on Barnes to escape a jam in the eighth. Barnes handled it, striking out Phil Gosselin with runners on the corners to preserve the lead.

Asked if anything changes when a closer is called on in the eighth, Barnes said flatly, “No.”

But the fact that he was needed an inning early, and has been needed in the eighth for extended saves three times this year, is a spotlight on the growing problem that has become the set-up role on this team.

“I don’t think Adam was sharp today,” Cora said when asked why Barnes came into the game early.

Overall this season, Ottavino has thrown less than 40% of his pitches in the strike zone, a lower rate than 75% of big league pitchers with at least 10 innings. The question is whether or not the Red Sox want him to change.

Look at the advanced data and one might conclude what he’s doing is working. There isn’t a single pitcher in the game with a lower average exit velocity than Ottavino’s mark of 80 mph. He’s yet to allow a “barrel” this year, per StatCast data, another indicator that hitters aren’t touching him.

And yet he’s got two blown saves, two losses and a 1.47 WHIP that indicates there’s far too much traffic on the basepaths. Anyone with a WHIP that high is typically going to see his ERA balloon with it; yet Ottavino has an acceptable 3.86 ERA thus far.

It has been an adventure on most nights when Ottavino enters. And it’s concerning, especially for a 35- year-old who was traded over the winter along with a prospect by the division rival Yankees in a salary dump.

Cora remains unbothered, despite Ottavino falling behind all four hitters he faced.

“Everybody was praising him two days ago when he attacked the strike zone,” Cora said. “He doesn’t want to walk people. Today was a little bad luck, a groundball with the 3-2 count. We don’t want him to fall behind but it was one of those ground balls where we got the shift and he goes the other way.

“His stuff is really good. This is a guy, we’re counting on him to get outs in the seventh and the eighth whenever we need him. We’re going to keep trusting him. He’s one of the best ones. His stuff is really good. We’ll keep working.”

Just a few days ago, Ottavino told reporters he was aware he was nibbling and needed to stop.

“I think it’s about time to trust (my pitches) instead of trying to be perfect sometimes,” he said.

He’s got a perfect example of someone who has done that pitching behind him in the ninth inning: Barnes.

Barnes was a very good, not great, set-up man for years until late last season. This year, he’s struck out more than 50% of the batters he’s faced and walked just three guys.

How’s he doing it? By throwing 73% of his pitches for strikes.

That’s why when Ohtani launched the middle-in heater more than 370 feet to right field for the game- winning homer, Barnes seemed completely unfazed.

“I was trying to throw a fastball up, just kind of pulled it in,” Barnes said after his first blown save of the year. “I don’t know that I expected to go 100 percent (in save chances). Obviously, that would have been awesome, but a lot of things have to go right in this game for you to be 100 percent all the time.

“It’s a funny game sometimes. I’m not going to change the way that I’m approaching guys, I’m not going to change the way that I’m attacking guys, the way that I’m pitching guys because I gave up a couple runs today. That’s not going to happen. I’m going to go back out there, do what I’ve been doing for the first seven weeks of the season, it seemed to work out pretty good so I don’t plan on changing a thing.”

It’s the mentality Ottavino could benefit from.

Asked about Ohtani, Barnes answered confidently, “I personally think he’s the most physically gifted baseball player that we’ve ever seen. I don’t know that you’re ever going to see somebody who can throw 101 mph and hit the ball 600 feet. He’s a special player. He’s incredibly talented and hopefully he stays healthy and has a long career.”

* The Providence Journal

Angels 6, Red Sox 5: Ohtani's ninth-inning homer ruins Red Sox' comeback

Bill Koch

BOSTON — This wasn’t how the script at Fenway Park was supposed to end.

Not with the two-out pop to right by Mike Trout to snap an 0-for-18 skid. Not with the two-run homer allowed by Matt Barnes in the top of the ninth inning. Not with the consecutive strikeouts by Jonathan Arauz and Michael Chavis.

Sunday afternoon seemed all but guaranteed to turn out differently. The Red Sox were on their way to a 17th come-from-behind victory of the young season and a sweep of the hopeless Angels.

These are the moments, however, that remind you of the game’s fine margins. Boston went from being able to touch double-digit games over .500 to departing for a six-game road trip on the back of a 6-5 defeat.

Shohei Ohtani spoiled the occasion for the Red Sox with one swing. His two-run homer around the Pesky Pole in deep right doomed Barnes to his first blown save of the season. Boston stranded the tying and go- ahead runs in the bottom of the ninth, failing to capitalize on walks by Alex Verdugo and Christian Vazquez.

“I don’t know that I expected to go 100%,” Barnes said. “Obviously that would have been awesome, but a lot of things have to go right in this game for you to be 100% all the time.”

Trout closing without a hit over the weekend would have been surprising, and he remedied that with a 75.9- mph quail into right. Marwin Gonzalez and Hunter Renfroe were playing so deep they couldn’t even attempt a dive coming in. Ohtani sent the next pitch to the field boxes, the culmination of a three-game stretch in which he impressed at the plate.

“That’s the way the game goes sometimes,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Sometimes you crush the ball like (Jose) Iglesias did and we make a good play. Then Trout gets jammed and it falls in.”

Gonzalez made a running catch on a liner to deep right-center by Iglesias in the top of the eighth. Perhaps that convinced Cora to risk a full off day for Verdugo instead of using him as a defensive replacement in the ninth. Renfroe has been one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball this season — his presence in right alongside Verdugo in center would have been a stronger alignment.

It’s a rare opportunity to second guess considering the way things have unfolded for the Red Sox through 42 games. The go-ahead three-run homer by Rafael Devers in the bottom of the fifth was more like it. His blast to the visiting bullpen wiped out a 4-2 deficit and seemed to put Boston on course for a fourth straight win.

“The way Trout was able to get on base and Ohtani hit the home run, it’s a tough one to swallow,” said Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi, who took a no-decision. “But we did a lot of good things today.”

Los Angeles batted around against Eovaldi in the top of the second, collecting all of its early offense with a four-run rally. Taylor Ward’s RBI single was the only run-scoring hit that was particularly well struck. Phil Gosselin’s double down the line in right and Drew Butera’s two-run single to left were both of the blooper variety, but the Angels enjoyed a 4-0 lead nonetheless.

What followed was typical of the Red Sox. Arauz nicked a run back in the bottom of the third with a double to the corner in left and Boston broke out in the bottom of the fifth. Kevin Plawecki sent a solo homer to Lansdowne Street and the 9,316 fans on hand seemed to sense more was to come.

Ohtani ultimately had the final say, and perhaps on any current Major League Baseball diamond he should be immediately recast as the leading man. His 12 home runs are tied for the league lead, and the right- hander is scheduled to make his next start in a three-game home series against Cleveland this week. Ohtani sports a 2.10 ERA on the mound, striking out 40 in just 25 2/3 innings.

“I personally think he’s the most physically gifted baseball player that we’ve ever seen,” Barnes said. “I don’t know that you’re ever going to see somebody who can throw 101 (mph) and hit the ball 600 feet.

“He’s a special player.”

RED SOX JOURNAL: Whitlock returns to active list

Mark Castonguay

BOSTON — There would seem to be a host of roster moves on the horizon for the Red Sox this week, and one of them was made prior to Sunday’s series finale with the Angels.

Garrett Whitlock was activated off the COVID-19 reserve list after one day. Colten Brewer was optioned to Triple-A Worcester.

Whitlock became the third Boston player this season to spend 48 hours or less on the virus list, joining J.D. Martinez and Nick Pivetta. He reported side effects from his second vaccination shot and was out of uniform for Saturday’s 9-0 shutout of Los Angeles. Brewer went unused out of the bullpen.

“We live in a changing world,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “There are a few things that have come out during the week. It’s a topic of discussion.

“MLB and the Players Association will dictate what we do throughout the season, and we’ll stick to that.”

Somewhat vaguely, Cora was alluding to the flexibility allowed by some of the adopted COVID-19 protocols between the league and the players. Whitlock was on the field early Sunday playing catch in right field and threw a short bullpen session. He certainly looked capable of pitching in the game if called upon.

As seen in the grandstands here throughout the week, the virus situation remains a fluid one. Fenway Park increased to 25% capacity and it felt a bit more normal both inside and in the surrounding streets. The Red Sox hope to reach 100% capacity in accordance with state health standards by Aug. 1.

“It’s not normal yet, but it feels a lot better than a few months ago,” Cora said. “From my end, it feels a lot better than last year.

Get the Sports Headlines newsletter in your inbox. Latest sports news sent to your inbox every day

“Back home (in Puerto Rico), I think we did an outstanding job from lockdowns to curfew to masks and physical distance and all that. It was tough, obviously. I lived it.”

Ready to return

Kiké Hernandez (right hamstring) certainly made an impression in his second rehab start with Triple-A Worcester on Sunday.

The utilityman crushed a grand slam in the bottom of the second inning, the first in the history of Polar Park. Hernandez’s round-tripper was pulled 457 feet and opened up what was scheduled to be a seven- inning afternoon in the outfield.

Hernandez added a solo homer later on as the WooSox finished a six-game series with the Syracuse Mets. He finished 2-for-4 and could be activated ahead of a six-game road swing to face the Blue Jays and Phillies.

Making progress

Christian Arroyo (left hand contusion) is targeting Wednesday for his first round of batting practice.

The infielder was scheduled to go through more tee work and soft toss prior to Sunday’s game. He will stay behind on the trip and receive treatment at Worcester.

Hernandez’s activation will likely force Michael Chavis or Jonathan Arauz to be optioned back to Worcester. Chavis was promoted first after Hernandez suffered his injury while Arauz came up to replace Arroyo. Cora isn’t tipping the club’s hand just yet, batting Chavis leadoff in what turned out to be a 2-for-4 afternoon on Sunday.

“The way I put it, he’s leading off today,” Cora said. “Tomorrow is an off day. We’ll see what the future brings.

“The future for him is today. The future for this team is today. We leave it at that.”

Boston's Tom Goodwin keeping it positive

Bill Koch

BOSTON — You can understand why Tom Goodwin made such a strong impression two decades ago.

His second stint with the Dodgers aligned with the prime of Alex Cora’s playing career. The future Red Sox manager appeared in 109 games or more with Los Angeles in every season from 2000-04. Goodwin, who debuted with the club in 1991, was a veteran presence in the clubhouse with more than 10 years of service time.

Cora turned to Goodwin when building his first Boston staff in November 2017. The former outfielder came on board to coach first base and work with players at his old position. Goodwin is now in his fourth season with the Red Sox, remaining a positive presence in the clubhouse and beyond.

“I just try to stay upbeat,” Goodwin said. “This game will bring you down — it will drag you down. You’re making more outs than you’re getting hits from the offensive side. Guys always have to feel like they’re getting pumped up.

“It helps to have a smile on your face when you’re on the field. It helps guys if they’re going through something you don’t even know they’re going through. It just helps to bring that type of positivity, that type of attitude.”

It’s Goodwin flexing and pointing to his biceps when Boston’s outfielders make a fine defensive play — a Big G, as they christened it four years ago. J.D. Martinez’s assist in the top of the fifth inning on Sunday, the league-leading 13th for the Red Sox this season, was likely to earn one. It’s that position group that’s been the most in flux for Boston since its most recent World Series title in 2018.

“He brings energy on a daily basis,” Cora said. “You need that over 162 (games).

“Obviously he was a good base runner, a great base stealer. Not only because of his speed, but he learned from a lot of good people in the Dodger organization.”

Goodwin would be a situational fit in this modern era more than an everyday player. He drove just 24 home runs in 4,315 plate appearances, but there has always been room in the game for good character and quick feet. Goodwin stole at least 34 bases eight times and at least 50 bases four times while developing under the tutelage of club legends like Maury Wills.

“It’s just a different strategy right now that’s being used,” Goodwin said. “Teams pick their spots a little more — on the cautious side.”

Goodwin’s primary value on the baseball side comes on defense. Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts were all homegrown and adjusted to Fenway Park’s unique nooks and crannies over a period of years. Red Sox newcomers this season like Hunter Renfroe, Kiké Hernandez, Franchy Cordero and Marwin Gonzalez have been forced to learn at a quicker pace.

“Defensively he’s helped the guys to maintain their routines,” Cora said. “They’ve been very solid with how they go about their business.”

Renfroe in particular has proven a quick study, accounting for eight defensive runs saved in just 41 games entering Sunday. His combination of willingness to hit the wall and a strong throwing arm makes him the top choice in right field at home. Renfroe notched a spectacular assist against Oakland earlier this week, backing up the play on a Matt Chapman drive to center and firing to third for a stunning 9-5 putout.

“That’s just a spectacular play,” Goodwin said. “That’s something you don’t teach, you don’t plan on — it just happens. But you do plan on him being there for the backup.”

Goodwin was asked whether or not he’d like to be a managerial candidate at some point, and he demurred at first. The 52-year-old is focused on the job at hand, but he reconsidered after a few moments of thought. Goodwin cited Cora for setting a strong example during his two tenures with Boston.

“I think any time you’re a coach at this level there’s an aspiration to do it,” Goodwin said. “I’ve learned from a lot of the good managers — Alex, of course, being one of the best. You can learn a lot from how he treats the players, how he treats certain situations, how he doesn’t panic in certain situations.”

* MassLive.com

Matt Barnes gives up two-run homer to Shohei Ohtani with two outs in ninth, Boston Red Sox lose to Angels

Christopher Smith

The Red Sox were one out away from their 26th victory with closer Matt Barnes on the mound. Then everything fell apart.

Mike Trout’s 75.9 mph bloop single to right-center field fell between right fielder Marwin Gonzalez, center fielder Hunter Renfroe and second baseman Michael Chavis who was in the shift and had to run a long way.

Shohei Ohtani then hit a 372-foot go-ahead home run to right.

The Angels won 6-5 at Fenway Park on Sunday.

Boston dropped to 25-17. It will have Monday off, then begin a three-game series Tuesday against the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla.

Red Sox come back from down four runs

The Red Sox fell behind 4-0 to the Angels in the second inning.

But Boston scored four times in the fifth inning to take the lead. Kevin Plawecki’s 389-foot solo home run to left field cut the deficit to 4-2. Rafael Devers’ three-run blast went 400 feet to right field to put Boston ahead.

J.D. Martinez’s outfield assist

Jared Walsh doubled off the Green Monster with Shohei Ohtani at first base and two outs in the fifth.

J.D. Martinez played the ball perfectly off the wall and fired a strike on one hop home to catcher Kevin Plawecki to throw out Ohtani trying to score. Ohtani was out by a mile. He didn’t even slide.

Martinez also made a sliding catch and Marwin Gonzalez made two excellent running catches.

Eovaldi’s second inning

Eovaldi allowed four runs on four hits (two doubles, two singles) in the second inning. He also hit the leadoff hitter.

Two of the hits were bloops. Drew Butera’s two-run single left his bat at just 67.7 mph. Phil Gosselin’s RBI single had just a 67.4 mph exit velocity.

Eovaldi went 5 innings, allowing four runs, six hits and one walk while striking out six.

The Red Sox bullpen

Phillips Valdez threw a scoreless sixth inning. Josh Taylor throw a perfect seventh inning.

Adam Ottavino recorded two outs in the eighth but also allowed a single and walk. Matt Barnes replaced him and struck out Gosselin on a foul tip.

But Barnes then allowed the two-run homer to Ohtani in the ninth.

Boston Red Sox’s Matt Barnes thought Mike Trout’s bloop single was final out; ‘When it left his bat, I thought the game was over’

Christopher Smith

Red Sox closer Matt Barnes thought Mike Trout’s 225-foot bloop single — that left his bat at only 75.9 mph — would be caught for the final out of Sunday’s game.

Instead, the ball dropped between center fielder Hunter Renfroe, right fielder Marwin Gonzalez and second baseman Michael Chavis who was shifted toward shortstop and had a long way to run.

“When it left his bat, I thought the game was over,” Barnes said. “I’ll be honest with you. I knew (someone) wasn’t going to be camped under it but I thought we were going to have somebody running right to it. But we didn’t and that happens sometimes. It is what it is.”

Shohei Ohtani hit Barnes’ next pitch, a 96.7 mph fastball, 372 feet to right field for a go-ahead two-run homer. The Angels won 6-5 over the Red Sox at Fenway Park on Sunday.

“The bloop was just kind of unfortunate,” Barnes said. “It’s kind of the nature of the business. Sometimes you make a good pitch, a guy gets a piece of it and it drops into no man’s land. And then I just threw a fastball middle-in to Ohtani that he was ready for it.”

Barnes said he was trying to throw a fastball up in the zone to Ohtani.

“I personally think he’s the most physically gifted baseball player that we’ve ever seen,” Barnes said about Ohtani. “I don’t know if you’re ever going to see somebody that can throw 101 (mph) and hit the ball 600 feet. So I mean he’s a special player. He’s incredibly talented and hopefully, he stays healthy and has a long career.”

It marked Barnes’ first blown save this season. He entered 9-for-9 in save opportunities and having struck out 50.7% of the batters he had faced (33 strikeouts in 65 batters).

He recorded the final out of the eighth inning when he entered with runners at the corners. So he was trying for a four-out save.

“I don’t think I expected to go 100%,” Barnes said. “Obviously that would have been awesome. But a lot of things have to go right in this game for you to be 100% all the time. Go out there on Tuesday and if it’s a close game, get the ball again and then lock it down again. It’s a funny game sometimes. I’m not going to change the way I’m approaching guys. I’m not going to change the way I’m attacking guys, the way that I’m pitching guys just because I gave up a couple runs today. That’s not going to happen. So I’m going to go back out there, do what I’ve been doing for the first seven weeks of the season. It seemed to work out pretty good. So I don’t plan on changing a thing.”

Michael Chavis leading off in Boston Red Sox lineup Sunday vs. Angels; Alex Verdugo, Christian Vázquez receive day off

Christopher Smith

Michael Chavis will lead off for the Boston Red Sox on Sunday against the Los Angeles Angels.

Boston is trying for a three-game sweep. First pitch is at 1:10 p.m. at Fenway Park.

Alex Verdugo and Christian Vázquez will receive the day off but they are available to pinch hit.

Rafael Devers will take Verdugo’s spot in the batting order. He will bat second behind Chavis.

Xander Bogaerts will be designated hitter. Jonathan Araúz will play shortstop. Hunter Renfroe is in center field and batting fifth.

Boston will face Angels left-handed started José Quintana (0-3, 9.00 ERA) who has struggled this season. He has allowed 21 earned runs, 26 hits and 19 walks while striking out 34 in 21 innings.

Renfroe is 3-for-8 with two home runs in his career vs. Quintana. Bogaerts is 6-for-14 (.429) and Martinez is 9-for-30 with a triple and double.

Nathan Eovaldi will start for Boston. He has a 4.20 ERA but his FIP is 2.17. He also has not allowed a home run in 45 innings this year.

The Red Sox have activated Garrett Whitlock from the COVID-related injured list and optioned Colten Brewer back to Triple-A Worcester.

Whitlock spent Saturday on the COVID-related IL because he was feeling under the weather after his second vaccine shot.

Boston Red Sox lineup:

1. Michael Chavis 2B

2. Rafael Devers 3B

3. J.D. Martinez LF

4. Xander Bogaerts DH

5. Hunter Renfroe CF

6. Bobby Dalbec 1B

7. Marwin Gonzalez RF

8. Kevin Plawecki C

9. Jonathan Araúz SS

Pitching matchup: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (4-2, 4.20) vs. LHP José Quintana (0-3, 9.00)

What is Boston Red Sox’s plan for Michael Chavis once Kiké Hernández, Christian Arroyo, Danny Santana are ready?

Christopher Smith

Michael Chavis is leading off Sunday for the fourth time since Boston recalled him from Triple-A Worcester on May 7 to take Kiké Hernández’s spot on the active roster.

Chavis homered in his first start. He also has had two two-hit games, including doubling twice in Boston’s 8-1 win over the Athletics on Thursday.

But how long will he be on Boston’s 26-man roster?

“I hate to look ahead,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Sunday morning. “There are some people who are coming off of the IL. Let’s take it day by day.”

Or we can take it roster move by roster move ...

Hernández (right hamstring strain) is nearing a return from the injured list. He could be activated as soon as Tuesday. He served as the DH in a rehab game with Worcester on Saturday. He belted a grand slam in his second at-bat today and he’s expected to play seven innings in center field for the WooSox.

Jonathan Araúz likely will be optioned to Worcester when Hernandez is activated this week. Araúz was recalled when Christian Arroyo (hand contusion) went on the injured list May 9.

Arroyo was scheduled to hit off a Tee again Sunday. The hope is he will take batting practice Wednesday, Cora said. He probably won’t be ready until early next week.

Chavis could be optioned once Arroyo is ready. Or the Red Sox could option Franchy Cordero to Worcester instead. Cordero has just a .167/.222/.226/.448 line in 31 games (91 plate appearances).

Danny Santana — who homered during a rehab game at Worcester on Saturday — could be added to the 40-man roster and placed on the active roster within the next two weeks. Chavis/Cordero (whoever not optioned for Arroyo) or a reliever could be optioned to Worcester to make room for Santana who signed a minor league contract with Boston in March.

The Red Sox have used 14 pitchers on their 26-man roster all season. They could switch it to 13 position players and 13 pitchers.

“The other day, everybody was excited about him (Chavis) hitting a home run and hitting two doubles,” Cora said. “To win a World Series, it’s more than 26 guys. And you have to make moves based on your roster and the people that you have available. So the way I put it is he’s leading off today. Tomorrow is an off day. We’ll see what the future brings. But the future for him is today. The future for this team is today. So we’ll leave it at that.”

Boston Red Sox roster moves: Garrett Whitlock (COVID IL) activated, Colten Brewer sent back to Worcester

Chris Cotillo

BOSTON -- The Red Sox made a roster move before Sunday’s game, activating right-hander Garrett Whitlock from the COVID-19 related injured list and optioning reliever Colten Brewer back to Worcester. Whitlock, who dealt with side effects from vaccination, was placed on the COVID-19 IL on Saturday.

Whitlock will be available out of the bullpen in Sunday’s series finale but is unlikely to pitch after throwing three innings Thursday night against Oakland. The rookie owns a 1.77 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 20 ⅓ innings this season.

Brewer made 69 appearances out of the bullpen over the last two seasons, compiling a 4.59 ERA in 80 ⅓ innings. He didn’t make the team out of spring training and has made one appearance for the WooSox so far this season.

Kiké Hernandez homers twice, hits first grand slam in WooSox history in 7-4 win over Syracuse Mets

Katie Morrison

WORCESTER -- Kiké Hernandez looks ready to rejoin the Boston Red Sox.

Playing in his second rehab game with the Worcester Red Sox while recovering from a hamstring injury, Hernandez got his name in the new franchise’s history books, hitting the WooSox’ first-ever grand slam in the second inning. He finished the second game of his rehab assignment with two home runs and five RBI.

Hernandez took advantage of Mets’ starter Jesus Reyes’ struggle with his command. After a double from Marcus Wilson, Reyes got Jeter Downs to strike out swinging, but proceeded to walk Josh Ockimey and then hit the No. 8 and 9 hitters to bring Hernandez up with the bases loaded and two outs.

After a mound visit from Mets pitching coach Mike Cather, Reyes gave Hernandez a pitch he could hit right down the middle and slightly up in the zone. Hernandez got every piece of it, depositing it 457 feet into the construction area in left-center field.

The area will house a four-story parking garage by next season, but in its current state, it took WooSox employees some searching and digging to retrieve the historic ball and get it to Worcester Red Sox President Dr. Charles Steinberg, who is collecting the historic game balls to eventually display in the park.

Hernandez gave those WooSox employees another ball to search for in his last inning in the game, as he took Mets reliever A.J. Schugel deep, this time for a solo shot to left-center.

Jack Lopez, who was called up to Worcester from Double-A Portland at the beginning of the homestand to replace Jonathan Araúz (who replaced the injured Christian Arroyo in Boston), went back-to-back with Hernandez, sneaking a home run just inside the foul pole down the left-field line.

Hernandez played seven innings in centerfield after serving as the designated hitter on Saturday. He finished the day going 2-for-4 with five RBI, also grounding out to second and striking out.

“It was pretty exciting stuff,” WooSox hitting coach Rich Gedman said. “He hit two different types of pitches, got two quality pitches to hit, and as we saw he kind of drove them out of sight. That’s special to see.”

The Red Sox outfielder also made a big play in center. Worcester starter Raynel Espinal allowed a two-out single and walk before Wilfredo Tovar hit a long fly ball to center. The ball hit off the wall and Hernandez played it with ease, getting it back to the infield in time to catch Tovar trying to stretch the double into a triple. The play allowed Espinal and the WooSox to escape the inning with only two runs in and clean-up hitter Brandon Drury on deck.

“He certainly made it look easy. It doesn’t usually happen that way,” Gedman said. “Usually when the big- leaguers come down here they struggle for a couple of days. For him to have impacted us in that way today was a big boost. It’s always nice to have him around, but it’s short-lived when he’s ready to go back.”

The pitch that Hernandez hit out was one of the only that WooSox hitters got a hold of on Sunday, and that’s partially due to Reyes’ wildness. Ockimey hardly got a pitch to hit all day, drawing two walks and being hit by a pitch. Cesar Puello was plunked twice as well.

Jarren Duran made his second start in left field, moving to make room for Hernandez in center, and looked comfortable. He made a couple of running catches up against the wall. At the plate, Duran went 1-for-3 with a double, walk, and fly out that went to the warning track. Right fielder Wilson also had a good day, going 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles.

Espinal wasn’t sharp but got the job done. He went five innings, allowing three runs on four hits and four walks. Kaleb Ort picked up his fourth save.

The WooSox will enjoy their first off day in Worcester Monday before welcoming in the first-place Buffalo Bisons on Tuesday night.

Worcester Red Sox Notebook: Kiké Hernandez, Danny Santana put in work with WooSox

Katie Morrison

The Worcester Red Sox had two major-league-caliber utilitymen at the top of their lineup on Saturday afternoon as Boston Red Sox outfielder Kiké Hernández made his first rehab appearance with the WooSox, and Danny Santana continued to work his way back toward the major league roster.

Hernandez is in Worcester rehabbing from a right hamstring injury. He left the Red Sox game on May 6 with tightness and looked to be running well on the leg during Saturday’s game. Hernandez had three plate appearances as the DH in the leadoff spot. He was hit with a pitch on the forearm to lead off the game and scored on a two-run home run from Santana. He also flied out to center and struck out swinging.

Hernandez is slated to play center field on Sunday in the WooSox series finale against the Syracuse Mets. It will be only the second time Jarren Duran hasn’t manned center field for the WooSox.

Santana has fit in seamlessly with the Worcester club, coming off three games with the High-A Greenville Drive as he works his way back from a foot infection that landed him in the hospital during spring training.

Santana played left field in Saturday’s 10-5 win, one of the positions he’s played most often in his career (he has the most career appearances in center field, then shortstop, then left field), after making appearances at third base and second base in his previous two games in Worcester.

The WooSox expect to be joined by another major-leaguer on the mend shortly, as Christian Arroyo is working his way back from a left hand contusion. Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said on Friday that Arroyo was scheduled to take batting practice on Saturday, but wasn’t feeling up to it. Arroyo participated in soft toss drills Friday but “it didn’t go great,” Cora said.

Tanner Houck, Connor Seabold work toward throwing programs

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora gave an update on Worcester Red Sox pitchers Tanner Houck and Connor Seabold on Saturday, saying they are “both feeling better,” though neither has started throwing yet.

The Red Sox shut down Houck earlier this month because of a sore flexor muscle, while Seabold began the minor league season on Triple-A Worcester’s IL because of elbow inflammation.

“Not throwing yet but the reports, everything I read yesterday, Tanner feels quote-unquote normal,” Cora said. “But obviously he has to go through everything, the rehab. And the doctors will determine how normal he is. But the fact that he’s feeling that way, it’s a positive.”

Worcester pitching coach Paul Abbott said he expects Houck to start playing catch on Monday, while he said the organization is being more cautious with Seabold, who is down at Fenway South in Florida receiving treatment but has not resumed baseball activities yet according to Cora.

Houck, on the other hand, has been in Worcester. He was on hand for the Opening Day festivities at Polar Park on Tuesday, and got a chance to briefly chat with Red Sox legend Pedro Martinez, who was on hand to throw out the first pitch.

“I told him he was going to be OK and that I would be around now on,” Pedro told MassLive’s Michael Bonner on Tuesday. “I also go to see our GM Chaim Bloom, Ben Crockett, everybody’s looking at him and we’re going to get together and see what we can do to make this kid better and make it easier for him.”

Colten Brewer recalled to Boston

Reliever Colten Brewer headed to Boston to make what will likely be a brief stint with the Red Sox as Garrett Whitlock was placed on the COVID-19-related injury list with side effects from his second dose of the vaccine.

Brewer saw time in 11 games with the major-league club in 2020, making four starts and seven relief appearances. He posted a 5.61 ERA and struggled with walks, averaging almost five walks per nine innings compared to 8.7 strikeouts per nine. The right-hander made his first appearance of the season for the WooSox on Wednesday against Syracuse, tossing one inning and allowing a run on one hit.

* RedSox.com

Barnes optimistic after finally faltering in 9th

Ian Browne

BOSTON -- Matt Barnes elevated a fastball on the inside corner of the strike zone to Mike Trout, and he was ready to receive handshakes and hugs for his 10th save in as many opportunities this year.

But for the first time this season in a spot that mattered, Barnes had some misfortune. A bloop by Trout -- which had an exit velocity of 75.9 mph and an expected batting average of .110 -- fell into short right field for a single.

There went the 1-2-3 top of the ninth. Up next was the Angels’ other dangerous megastar, and Shohei Ohtani didn’t miss his chance to be the hero with two outs in the top of the ninth.

Ohtani lofted a first-pitch 96.6 mph fastball from Barnes for a two-run homer with a near-matching exit velocity (96.7 mph) that turned a one-run Boston lead into an eventual 6-5 Red Sox loss in the series finale.

It was the proverbial bloop and a blast -- a combo authored this time by two of the best players in baseball - - that sunk Barnes and the Red Sox on Sunday.

In this case, the bloop was the one that stung the most.

“Yeah, I mean, Trout, when it left his bat, I thought the game was over,” said Barnes. “I knew he wasn’t going to be camped under it, but I thought we were going to have somebody running right to it. But we didn't and that happens sometimes. It is what it is.”

• Roster decisions loom for Sox down the line

It was the perfect storm for the Angels.

“I thought it had a chance and it did,” said Angels manager Joe Maddon. “They were playing big and no doubles. The second baseman was over [toward the middle of the infield]. So it was the perfect moment for us.”

And then Ohtani did what he did, hooking one down the line in right and pulling his gifted hands in just enough to keep it fair.

“I was looking at the ball and praying it was fair,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. “That's all I was thinking."

The pitch that Barnes made to Ohtani would stay in the ballpark against most hitters. But Ohtani is in a special class, and Barnes knows it.

“I personally think he's the most physically gifted baseball player that we've ever seen,” Barnes said. “I don't know that you're ever going to see somebody who can throw 101 and hit the ball 600 feet. So, I mean, he's a special player. He's incredibly talented and hopefully he stays healthy and has a long career.”

Though Barnes is relatively new to the closing role, he has the demeanor and the mindset that should serve him well heading into his next outing.

“I don't consider my run over,” said Barnes. “I just gave up a couple runs today and lost the game. To be honest with you, I don’t know that I expected to go 100 percent [in save opportunities]. Obviously that would have been awesome, but a lot of things have to go right in this game for you to be 100 percent all the time. You know, go out there on Tuesday and if it’s a close game, get the ball again and then lock it down again.”

It was an entertaining weekend at Fenway in which the Red Sox took the first two games and were one out from a sweep.

They trailed 4-0 on Sunday and rallied for a four-spot to take the lead in the bottom of the fifth, as Rafael Devers smacked his 11th homer, a three-run shot to right on an 0-2 pitch.

That lead stood for 11 outs, including three from Phillips Valdez, three more from Josh Taylor, two from Adam Ottavino and three from Barnes.

Though the 12th out came too late, the Red Sox left Fenway with a 25-17 record and a 1 1/2-game lead over the Blue Jays in the American League East. A three-game showdown in Dunedin, Fla., with the Jays starts Tuesday night.

Barnes just hopes his team has the lead in the ninth so he gets the chance to wash away the taste of Sunday.

Roster decisions loom for Sox down the line

Ian Browne

BOSTON -- With reinforcements on the way, starting with the imminent return of Kiké Hernández -- likely Tuesday in Dunedin, Fla., against the Blue Jays -- the Red Sox are going to have some interesting roster decisions to make in the coming weeks.

If Hernández does return from his right hamstring strain on Tuesday, the first move should be pretty straightforward, as utility infielder Jonathan Araúz will likely get optioned back to Triple-A Worcester.

But when Christian Arroyo comes back from his left wrist contusion in roughly a week, things will get more interesting.

“Christian, he’s going to hit off the tee again today," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "He’ll stay back in the beginning of this road trip, he’ll go to Worcester to get treatment and then he’ll ramp up offensively. The hope is for him to start taking batting practice by Wednesday."

And then there will be an even bigger crunch when Danny Santana, who smashed 28 homers for the Rangers two years ago, has seen enough at-bats at Triple-A that he is ready to join Boston.

Santana wasn’t ready for the start of the season due to suffering a severe right foot infection in Spring Training. But he has looked strong at the plate and in the field at Worcester.

“He’s doing well, he’s playing well, moving well,” Cora said. “He stole a base, I want to say, yesterday or the night before. Hitting, he looks like, timing-wise, he’s there. He’s almost there. We’ve been moving him around all over the place.

“This is a guy, like I said, we were looking for versatility in the offseason and then he was there at the end. I think [chief baseball officer] Chaim [Bloom] and the front office did an outstanding job recognizing players and this is a guy, it gives us another alternative, let’s see where it takes us. We feel good about where he’s at, not only physically but as a hitter and as a player.”

When Arroyo and Santana are ready for action, the Red Sox will have three options -- no pun intended -- for how to fit them on the roster.

The Sox could option infielder Michael Chavis back to Triple-A, even though he’s shown some promising flashes (two doubles and a homer) since he was called up on May 7 to replace Hernández when he went down with a strained right hamstring strain.

Chavis had an important hustle double that helped the Red Sox end an offensive slump in Thursday’s win over Oakland. But the next day, given a chance to lead off against a righty, he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

On Sunday, Cora gave Chavis another chance to make an impact, putting him in the leadoff spot against Angels lefty José Quintana.

“He’s leading off today, he’s playing second,” Cora said before the series finale. “I hate to look ahead. There’s some people who are coming back from the IL, let's take it day by day. The other day, everybody was excited about him hitting a home run and hitting two doubles.

“To win a World Series, it’s more than 26 guys. You have to make moves based on your roster, and the people that you have available. Tomorrow’s an off-day. We’ll see what the future brings. The future for him is today. The future for this team is today. We’ll leave it at that.”

Option 2 would be to option left fielder Franchy Cordero, who smashed two run-scoring doubles on Saturday but has struggled mightily (.167/.222/.226) this season. By getting regular at-bats in a less pressurized environment, perhaps Cordero could gain more consistency with his swing and his approach.

Option 3 would be to option a low-leverage reliever. All season long, the Red Sox have gone with a 14- man pitching staff. It has served them well to this point, as Boston had a 3.75 ERA entering Sunday, sixth in the American League, and a big improvement over the 5.58 ERA the club finished with last season.

The presence of both Arroyo -- who was an important contributor the first few weeks of the season -- and Santana could boost the depth of one of the best offenses in the Major Leagues.

Goody is Energizer bunny

Anyone who watched some of the MLB Productions footage from the 2018 World Series run remembers that Red Sox first-base coach Tom Goodwin is one of the most energetic members of the team.

A former Major League outfielder for the Dodgers, Royals, Rangers, Rockies, Giants and Cubs, Goodwin comes in every day with the enthusiasm that a team can use over the grind that is a baseball season.

How does a first-base coach provide energy?

“Honestly, I just try to stay upbeat. This game will bring you down, it’ll drag you down,” Goodwin said. “You’re making more outs than you’re getting hits from the offensive side, so guys always have to feel like they’re getting pumped up. It just helps to have a smile on your face when you’re out on the field. It helps guys if they’re going through something that you don’t even know they’re going though. It just helps to bring that type of positivity and that type of attitude.”

Goodwin is well-regarded by Cora and the entire Red Sox organization and has a good reputation around the game. Would the 52-year-old like to manage someday?

“I think anytime you’re a coach at this level, I think there’s an aspiration to do it,” Goodwin said. “I’ve learned from a lot of good managers, and I think, Alex, of course being one of the best. If you do manage, you take some of those things with you. There are a lot of things he does that you remember. If I am fortunate enough one day to run a club, those would be some of the things that would get brought in.”

* WEEI.com

This Red Sox loss got me thinking

Rob Bradford

I don't believe this was the be-all, end-all, worst loss of the season for the Red Sox. Ultimately, this was one bad inning from Nathan Eovaldi, a seeing-eye single from Mike Trout, and a singular poorly-placed pitch by perhaps the best closer in the game right now.

So be it.

But that doesn't mean there weren't issues that should have made one think, both regarding the Red Sox' lot in life after this 6-5 loss to the Angels Sunday afternoon, and, in some ways, the state of baseball in general.

Here are some thoughts on the Red Sox' 17th loss of the season that I just can't shake:

1. Let's play out the ninth inning for the Red Sox ...

Alex Cora chooses to use one of his two pinch-hitting options (Franchy Cordero doesn't count), Alex Verdugo, to face Angels closer Mike Mayers to lead off the frame, replacing Bobby Dalbec. Should Cora have saved Verdugo for the Jonathan Arauz at-bat? Maybe. But ultimately the move proved the correct one, with Verdugo getting aboard via a walk.

Marwin Gonzalez (who, by the way, is hitting .139 with runners in scoring position) strikes out, paving the way for Christian Vazquez to pinch-hit for Kevin Plawecki. While this move also could have been debated considering Plawecki homered earlier in the game, the fact Vazquez also walked made the strategy hard to argue.

But by using both Verdugo and Vazquez, this put the eggs in the basket of Arauz, the switch-hitter who was riding a two-hit day and is 10-for-24 with runners in scoring position for his brief major league career.

Ultimately, both Arauz and the next batter, Michael Chavis, struck out. Game over.

So, what was my biggest problem with the entire scenario? The Arauz at-bat. It bugged me.

Let's go back a few years when Joe Maddon, now the manager of the Angels, surmised that teams would start teaching their hitters how to beat shifts while coming up through the minor leagues. That clearly hasn't happened. Case in point: Arauz.

With the Angels shifting over to the right side, leaving third baseman Anthony Rendon alone on the left, playing fairly deep, the invitation was there. Just push a bunt over, or chop one to the opposite field and you will likely have the bases loaded with Chavis up and Rafael Devers sitting behind him.

Instead Arauz took three enormous left-handed swings, the final one missing Mayer's 95 mph fastball. There was no semblance of introducing situational baseball.

It made me immediately think back to an almost identical situation Arauz had in spring training, when the infielder chose to try and hit 500-foot home runs with the game on the line and the opposition leaving an entire side of the field open. Same image. Same result. Same frustration.

To entertain the notion that a player Arauz would be shifted on at all -- nevermind with two runners on and the game on the line -- a few years ago was inconceivable. But clearly there is a reason teams have gone down this road, with the Red Sox' infielder only encouraging such a strategy with this sort of approach.

2. The acceptance of four out saves doesn't seem sustainable.

It's no mystery that the Red Sox need to find some sort of certainty when it comes to locking down eighth innings in games like this. That notion was highlighted once again by Adam Ottavino, who couldn't get three outs in the eighth with the Red Sox' leading by a run, forcing Matt Barnes into the game an inning early.

It marked the fourth time Barnes -- who is giving off the same vibes as Koji Uehara and Craig Kimbrel at the height of their powers -- pitched in the eighth inning this season.

Remember the debate throughout 2017 regarding not forcing Kimbrel into four-out saves? By the end of that season, the Sox closer only pitched in the eighth inning six times. He did, however, find himself with four outings of more than just one inning in the first three months of the season, necessitating the acquisition of Addison Reed.

Overextending Barnes is the last thing Cora wants to do, and he knows that's a path that can't keep be worn out. It's why Priority No. 1 for this team is to find a solution to the eighth-inning conundrum sooner rather than later.

3. The Ohtani Debate

I kind of liked this comment from Barnes when discussing the guy who took him deep for the game- winner, Ohtani: "I personally think he's the most physically gifted baseball player that we've ever seen. I don't know that you're ever going to see somebody who can throw 101 and hit the ball 600 feet. So, I mean he's a special player. He's incredibly talented and you know hopefully he stays healthy and has a long career."

This should have made you think.

Is there anyone else who enters the conversation?

The naysayers will point to things like Ohtani's relative lack of durability, or even relatively how batting average (.262). But, put this way: This is more of a Bo Jackson conversation than one involving the likes of Trout.

Jackson could do things athletically that nobody else could. Same goes with Ohtani.

Can other position players throw a ball 101 mph? Maybe. But nobody can actually pitch in a major league game to major league hitters while carrying such an arsenal.

Can other pitchers serve as a threat with the bat? Perhaps. But not a single one of them could be presiding as one of the game's most feared offensive threats, along the lines of what Ohtani currently represents.

Think about. And after you do, you will probably come to the same conclusion that Barnes surfaced. He is the most physically-gifted baseball player we have ever seen.

J.D. Martinez makes incredible throw to nail Shohei Ohtani at home plate

Rob Bradford

J.D. Martinez has his strengths.

The Red Sox slugger is one of the best offensive players in Major League Baseball, a notion that he once again has proven this season. Heading into Sunday's game against the Angels Martinez carried a .345 batting average and 1.038 OPS.

But another subtle feather in Martinez' cap is a throwing arm that has always been one of the most accurate in the game.

It's a reality that was put on display in fifth inning, with Martinez gunning down Shohei Ohtani after perfectly playing Jared Walsh's ball off the left field wall.

The throw allowed to keep the Red Sox' deficit at two runs, leading to Alex Cora's club taking the lead in the bottom of the fifth thanks to homers by Kevin Plawecki and Rafael Devers.

It's starting to feel like a pretty memorable pennant race is brewing

Rob Bradford

You soak in a game like the Red Sox' put up against the Angels. And then you check in on the American League East standings.

Then you check the calendar.

Will everything we see the rest of the way resemble the Red Sox' 9-0 win over the Angels Saturday? Of course not. Could this division suddenly be separated in a manner that currently isn't the case, with only one team more than three games in back of the first-place Sox? Sure.

But as we sit here on mid-May, storming our way to Memorial Day, what can be defined is the feeling given off to this point.

This is sure giving off the vibe of a great pennant race, with the Red Sox entrenched in the conversation all the way until October.

Red Sox vs. Yankees, with a little Blue Jays and Rays mixed in. What's better?

In order to actually surmise this is going to be a thing one would have to first start believing in what the Red Sox are presenting. At this point -- thanks mainly to a starting pitching staff that entered the season lathered up in question marks -- it's hard not to believe this somewhat-flawed roster can't be as good or not better than an American League full of somwhat-flawed rosters.

Perhaps it was Martin Perez's outing against the Angels that pushed more people to the bandwagon. Six innings. No runs. An ERA that sits at 3.40.

In case you missed it, Perez has become the pitcher the Red Sox were banking on him becoming. In his last four starts he owns a 1.61 ERA, .220 opponent average against, and 1.12 WHIP. For what it's worth, he also leads the majors in strikeouts looking (24).

These other teams have their version of Perez, guys who they had hoped would find another gear despite some uncertainty. Corey Kluber has been good for the Yankees. Robbie Ray likewise for the Blue Jays. And Rich Hill has been on fire for Tampa Bay.

But for the Red Sox, getting this sort of payoff was the be-all, end-all. They needed the evolution from three pitchers -- Perez, Garrett Richards and Nick Pivetta. The Sox' record with those three pitching this season is currently 15-9. That will do.

As for the rest of the participants in this pennant race ...

It's exhausting fending off the overreaction and immediate panic that comes with players overperforming, underperforming and everything in between. Friday, we were screaming for more Michael Chavis. The next day he struck out in three of his four at-bats. The Bobby Dalbec roller coaster now has taken us to a place where the first baseman is hitting .360 with a 1.247 OPS and three home runs over his last seven games. Franchy Cordero just notched two doubles!

All of these teams in this thing are living with the same sort of dynamic, trying to figure out what exactly they are while riding the coattails of their foundations.

For the Red Sox, it's no secret. The likes of Alex Verdugo, J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers will be their fail-safe. It's not a bad one to have.

The Yankees have theirs. As do the Jays. The Rays? To be honest, sometimes it's hard to figure out how they win, but they just do.

Go back to May 16, 2018 and you will find the Red Sox and Yankees deadlocked in the American League East standings, with no other division participants closer than seven games out. A month later, the Red Sox were still 1/2-game out with the third-place 15 1/2 games out. A month after that, Alex Cora's club was pulling away.

Three years ago, it was the story of two teams. This time it is four, and it is potentially awesome.

Maybe all of this is off base. But sometimes you just have to go with your gut. And taking a good hard look at what is going on, it sure feels like the Summer of 2021 is going to give us a race to remember.

* BostonSportsJournal.com

Final: Angels 6, Red Sox 5

Sean McAdam

Matt Barnes suffered his first blown save of the season and the Red Sox saw what looked to be a comeback win turn into stinging defeat, 6-5, to the Los Angeles Angels.

After Mike Trout collected his first base hit of the series -- a blooper than fell in between three fielders -- with two out, Shohei Ohtani turned on a 97 mph fastball and deposited it into the right field seats for his second homer of the series and 12th of the season.

The Sox had two on and one out in the bottom of the ninth but couldn't generate anything further.

The Sox had worked to erase a 4-0 deficit and took their first lead when Rafael Devers clubbed a three-run shot into the right field bleachers in the fifth.

WHO: Red Sox (25-16) vs. Los Angeles Angels (16-22) WHEN: 1:10 p.m. WHERE: Fenway Park SERIES TO DATE: Red Sox 2-0 STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (4-2, 4.20) vs. LHP Jose Quintana (0-3, 9.00) TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI-FM 93.7

LINEUPS:

ANGELS

Rojas 2B Trout CF Ohtani DH Rendon 3B Walsh 1B Ward RF Iglesias SS Gosselin LF Butera C

RED SOX

Chavis 2B Devers 3B Martinez LF Bogaerts DH Renfroe CF Dalbec 1B Gonzalez RF Plawecki C Arauz SS

IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:

T9: An out away from notching his 10th save in 10 tries, Matt Barnes gives up a two-run homer to Shohei Ohtani and the Angels re-take the lead.

T8: Matt Barnes inherits a first-and-third, two-out jam from Adam Ottavino and gets Phil Gosselin swinging to preserve the one-run lead.

T7: The middle innings have been most troublesome for the Red Sox bullpen, but today, Phillips Valdez and Josh Taylor combined for two scoreless innings, with just one baserunner from seven hitters.

B5: Angels catcher Drew Butera set up outside, but Aaron Selgers missed badly with his location, catching way too much of the plate and Rafael Devers, on an 0-and-2 pitch, drives it into the bleachers behind the visitor's bullpen. The Red Sox lead for the first time today.

B5: The drought is over! Kevin Plawecki, who invented the concept of the laundry cart ride in the dugout after homers but hadn't hit one himself since, clears everything in left and finally takes his first ride.

T5: Nice play by J.D. Martinez, who field a single off the Wall and fires home to easily nab Shohei Ohtani at the plate.

B3: Red Sox miss out on a golden chance to climb back into this one. After getting a run back, they had second-and-third with no out and couldn't score any more -- two strikeouts and an infield pop-up from the top three in the order.

B3: Red Sox start to break through against Quintana, with three straight hits in the third. Third base coach Carlos Febles was waving Kevin Plawecki home, but Plawecki decided against it -- wisely, as he would have been easy out at the plate.

T2: This one is quickly threatening to get away from the Red Sox. A bloop double to right from Taylor Ward and a line single to left from Drew Butera produce three runs and the Angels are up 4-0

T2: Angels making solid contact against Nathan Eovaldi in the second, with three straight hits and a run.

T1: Mike Trout, who seemingly never hits well at Fenway, is 0-for-7 with two walks and three strikeouts in the series.

WHAT'S UP: At 25-16 (.610), the Red Sox have MLB’s best record...They are also nine games above .500 (also 22-13 on 5/9).... The Red Sox have won each of their last 3 games...The Sox lead the majors in come- from-behind wins (16)....The Red Sox have begun 36 consecutive days in sole possession of first place in the AL East (4/11-5/16)...They moved into 1st on 4/10 and have been there ever since...Their largest lead of the season is 3.5 games....The Red Sox’ plus-46 run differential ranks third in the AL and fourth in the majors...They have won nine games by five or more runs, tied for second-most in MLB. The Sox have lost only two games by five or more runs...The Red Sox lead MLB in runs (212), doubles (92), extra-base hits (146), slugging (.445), and OPS (.772)...They also rank second behind the Astros in AVG (.264). The Sox have 24 HR in their last 15 games, tied with Toronto for most in MLB during that time...: The Sox are out- homering their opponents, 51-29 (+22)...That is the largest difference in the AL and 2nd-largest in the majors (STL, +24)...Sox pitchers have allowed an AL-best 0.72 homers per nine innings....They have allowed multiple home runs only seven times this season, including in only one of their last 13 games. The Sox are the only team yet to allow three homers in a game...Xander Bogaerts (52) and J.D. Martinez (51) rank first and second in the majors in hits...Bogaerts (92) and Martinez (91) also rank first and second in total bases. Martinez is tied for the MLB lead in RBI (33) and leads the AL in runs scored (32) ...Bogaerts ranks second n the majors in AVG (.354), trailing only the White Sox’ Yermin Mercedes (.361). Bogaerts also ranks among the top five in MLB in SLG (5th, .626), OPS (4th, 1.039), doubles (T-3rd, 13), and extra- base hits (T-3rd, 22)....The Red Sox are 12-3 against the Angels since the start of 2018, including 7-2 at Fenway...The Red Sox have allowed four runs or fewer in each of their last seven games, their longest streak of 2021... They rank sixth in the AL and 12th in the majors in ERA (3.75), after posting a 5.58 ERA in 2020...Sox starters have thrown six or more innings in each of the last five games and in seven of the last nine..In those nine games, Sox starters have a 2.55 ERA....In the club’s last 20 games, Sox starters have a 3.33 ERA with 0.55 HR/9.0 IP....Sox starters have thrown five or more innings in 34 games this season, tied with the Dodgers for most in the majors...Nathan Eovaldi has not allowed a homer in his last 58.0 IP, MLB’s longest active homerless streak. Eovaldi is the only qualified pitcher to not allow a HR in 2021...He has faced 239 batters since his last HR.

NOTES:

* Kike Hernandez deserved as DH for Worcester Saturday and had four plate appearances. He's set to play the outfield for seven innings Sunday and is expected to join the team on its upcoming road trip. Meanwhile, Christian Arroyo will get treatment in Worcester the next few days and is expected to take batting practice starting Wednesday.

* The Red Sox reinstated RHP Garrett Whitlock from the IL-Covid related list and optioned RHP back to Triple A Worcester.

BSJ Game Report: Angels 6, Red Sox 5 -- Ohtani's homer boosts Angels in the ninth

Sean McAdam

All you need to know about the Red Sox' loss to the Angels, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:

HEADLINES

Barnes' streak comes to end: Matt Barnes had been a perfect 9-for-9 in save opportunities until Sunday, but couldn't close out this one. With the Red Sox leading 5-4, Barnes retired the first two hitters in the ninth. He then got Mike Trout to hit a harmless pop-up to shallow right, but with the infield shifted around and the outfield playing back, the ball found a spot on the outfield grass, eluding three Sox fielders in pursuit. That should have been the first sign for the Red Sox that this one wasn't going to end well. Sure enough, on the first pitch to Shohei Ohtani, the Angels' DH turned on an inside fastball and drove it into the right-field seats, putting the Angels ahead for good, 6-5. The Sox had two baserunners on and one out in the ninth, but couldn't cash in, as their three-game winning streak was snapped and a chance to sweep the Angels eluded them.

Eovaldi pays for one bad inning: Nathan Eovaldi pitched five innings in his start Sunday. In four of them, the Angels were 2-for-14 and Eovaldi fanned five in 49 pitches. The problem came in the second when Eovaldi experienced a nightmare inning, throwing 38 pitches and allowing four runs. A few of the hits early in the inning were hard-hit, but later, some others were softly hit, only to somehow fall in. Phil Gosselin's bloop double, which scored a run, was a perfect example of this and so too was a soft liner to left from light-hitting catcher Drew Butera, which scored two. Eovaldi was otherwise strong, but couldn't extricate himself from an inning that managed to get away from him.

TURNING POINT

The game was lost in the ninth....or was it? The Red Sox had a golden chance far earlier in the game to do some damage and couldn't come up with much. They got back-to-back singles from Marwin Gonzalez and Kevin Plawecki to open the third and a run-scoring double from Jonathan Arauz in the third, giving them second-and-third and no out. A base hit would have scored two and started a big inning. Even a fly ball, or a groundout would have given them at least one more run. Instead, Michael Chavis and Rafael Devers fanned and J.D. Martinez ended the threat with a popup to first. It served as one more example of the Sox not taking full advantage of some early chances in the game -- and regretting them later.

TWO UP

Kevin Plawecki: Filling in behind the plate, Plawecki had a two-hit game with a single in his first trip and a solo homer in his second plate appearance.

Rafael Devers: Devers tied J.D. Martinez for the team lead in homers with a huge three-run homer in the fifth that wiped out the Angels' 4-2 lead.

ONE DOWN

Xander Bogaerts: Serving as the DH for the afternoon, Bogaerts had an atypically quiet day with the bat, going 0-for-4 with a strikeout and a double play.

QUOTE OF NOTE

"I personally think he's the most physically gifted baseball player I've ever seen.'' Matt Barnes on Shohei Ohtani.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

* The loss was the first one for the Red Sox this season in which they had led after eight innings. They had been 21-0 until Sunday.

* The Red Sox have hit multiple homers in four straight games.

* Rafael Devers leads the majors in go-ahead or game-tying RBI this season with 15.

* J.D. Martinez posted his second outfield assist this season in the fifth inning and the 13th for the Red Sox outfield.

* Kevin Plawecki hit his first homer of the season and first since last Sept. 6

UP NEXT

The Red Sox are off Monday before starting a six-game road trip Tuesday night in Dunedin, Fla. against the Toronto Blue Jays. LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (5-1, 4.15) vs. LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (3-2, 2.95)

Matt Barnes learns to live with the losses

Sean McAdam

It had gone so well for Matt Barnes over the first seven weeks of the season that it was easy for some to remember that failure is part of the job. A built-in part, actually.

Through his first nine save chances, he had barely allowed any baserunners, much less a run. Yes, he had given up a three-run homer in one appearance, but he had had the good sense to do that in a game in which the Sox led comfortably.

With the game on the line, however, Barnes had been close to perfect. He had followed the Red Sox' staff- wide dictum to attack the strike zone. He had worked quickly. He had gotten ahead of hitters three-quarters of the time. And without exception, when the Sox entrusted him with a late-inning lead, he had protected it with great care.

He was close to making it 10-for-10 Sunday, too. Until he wasn't. Because no one is perfect, even in a role in which the expectation is that you should be.

Having bailed out Adam Ottavino in the eighth, fanning Phil Gosselin with the tying run on third and the go-ahead run on first, Barnes made quick work of the first two Angels hitters in the ninth. And when he got Mike Trout to hit a harmless pop-up just beyond second base, he figured his work was done and another win was in the books.

"When it left his bat, I thought the game was over,'' said Barnes. "I'll be honest with you. I knew someone wasn't going to be camped under it. But I thought we'd have someone running right to it. But we didn't.''

Indeed, with the Sox infield shifted around on Trout, second baseman Michael Chavis was on the shortstop side of the bag with a long way to run. The same was true for center fielder Hunter Renfroe and right fielder Marwin Gonzalez, who were playing back. The ball had an expected batting average of .111, and yet, fate (and positioning) interceded and the ball dropped in.

"Kind of the nature of the business,'' shrugged Barnes. "Sometimes, you make a good pitch, a guy gets a piece of it and it falls into no man's land. It is what it is.''

That brought Shohei Ohtani to the plate, and that meant trouble. Barnes tried to throw a fastball up in the zone, but got it more in than he would have liked. Ohtani turned on it and drove it into the right-field seats. Manager Alex Cora labeled it a "Pesky Pole'' homer, but it was far more than that. Nothing cheap about a ball that was hit better than 370 feet.

Goodbye lead and goodbye to the stretch of converted saves Barnes had piled up. But not long after the Sox had dropped their 6-5 decision, he was unbowed and more than a little defiant.

The role demands that of him.

"I don't consider my run over,'' he said. "I just gave up a couple of runs and we lost the game. I don't think the run's over. I've got to be honest -- I don't know that I expected to go 100 percent. Obviously, that would have been awesome. But a lot of things have to go right in this game for you to be 100 percent all the time. I'll go out there on Tuesday and if it's a close game, go out there and lock it down again.''

If that approach sounds cavalier, it's not. It's a sign that Barnes has come to grips with the closer's job and understood the attendant expectations. A closer is a team's last line of defense. When he stumbles, it almost always results in a loss for his team. Others don't have that same burden.

But as disappointing as the outcome was, Barnes remained resolute.

"I'm not going to change the way I've been attacking guys, the way I've been pitching guys,'' he said, "because I gave up a couple of runs today. It's not going to happen.''

Nor should he. It's that same, channeled aggression that has made Barnes successful nine out of 10 times. Even in the world of closers, that's a fine rate of success. If you extrapolate those numbers and Barnes ends the year 36-of-40 in save chances, that will mean good things for him and his team.

"I'm going to go back out there and do what I've been doing,'' he said. "It seemed to work out pretty good, so I don't plan on changing a thing.''

Barnes was done in by the perfect storm: an improbable bloop single followed by the first hit on a first- pitch fastball this season.

You could say he was due. You could say it was the law of averages.

But Matt Barnes isn't apologizing and he's not about to change.

As he modestly noted, until Sunday, it seemed to work out pretty good. And if takes another 10 save chances before he blows his next one, he'll take that, too.

* The Athletic

Proof of concept: Red Sox showing they can win and build at the same time

Chad Jennings

Spring training was in its final stages. The Red Sox were playing well, but not well enough to change the prevailing narrative that their front office was prioritizing saving money and building for the future over winning games now. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was sitting on a bench inside the Red Sox spring complex telling his side of the story, when he was asked about being able eventually to say, “I told you so.”

Bloom just smiled.

“I guess it depends how insulting the feedback is,” he said. “But I don’t think of it in terms of, ‘I told you so.’ Really, more than anything, for myself and making that decision to come here and doing it with a vision of helping this organization get back to a certain place, if we get there, there still will be plenty of work to stay there and get even better because the competition in this game doesn’t slow down. But if we get to that place, it’s going to be extremely satisfying from a professional standpoint.”

The Red Sox are not there yet, but a quarter of the way into this season, Bloom and company have achieved a kind of proof of concept. Turns out, the Red Sox can focus on long-term sustainability and still remain competitive in the here and now. Even after a stunning 6-5 loss to the Angels on Sunday, the Red Sox have the most wins in baseball through more than a quarter of the season. They’ve already won more games than they did last year (and in 18 fewer games), and it hasn’t required some absurd best-case scenario to become this competitive. The Red Sox have obvious flaws, but they’ve shown more good than bad.

Whatever happens next — and a lot can happen between now and October — it’s no longer laughable to suggest the Red Sox are relevant again. Bloom and company never claimed to have built a no-doubt World Series favorite — in fact, they acknowledged that some of their moves made the Red Sox weaker in the short-term — but Bloom, manager Alex Cora and general manager Brian O’Halloran repeatedly have insisted this roster could contend. That’s clearly the case.

“We feel that we were going to hang in there pitching-wise with everybody,” Cora said. “Offensively, we’re good, and we can be better. We’ve seen it the last 2 1/2 weeks, three weeks, the ups and downs. But overall, we’ve done a good job. We got that hot streak (in early April), and then we’ve been able to survive. I’ve been saying all along, if surviving for us is playing .500 baseball for X amount of time, so be it. It’s avoiding the long losing streaks. Whenever you get hot again, that’s when you gain ground.”

Take this week, for example. It started with a stone-cold offense and three straight losses (the Red Sox’ longest losing streak since the first three games of the season, which let the Yankees pull within a game of first place in the American League), but the Red Sox followed with three wins in a row. They would have made it four straight Sunday but Matt Barnes blew a save for the first time this season when, with two outs in the ninth, Mike Trout blooped a single and Shohei Ohtani hit a game-winning homer just inside the Pesky Pole.

It wasn’t a perfect game, and the Angels aren’t the stiffest competition, but the Red Sox won another series heading into Monday’s off day. Tuesday starts a three-game series against the second-place Blue Jays, an important matchup this early in the year.

Being in first place on May 17 isn’t the final stage of Bloom’s plan for the Red Sox, but this team is competitive and it’s compelling in its own ways. Just three examples:

1. The roster has star power

In a single blockbuster, Bloom traded away more household names than he’s acquired in his two years on the job. But even without Mookie Betts and David Price — and with Chris Sale still on the disabled list — this Red Sox roster clearly has star power. Bloom hasn’t sacrificed all of it in the name of sustainability.

Rafael Devers, J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts each rank top 10 in the American League bWAR, with Martinez ranked second in OPS, Bogaerts leading in doubles, and Devers tied for the second-most homers. Alex Verdugo, the prize of the Betts/Price deal, has been a notch below those three, but he’s producing on par with the likes of Bo Bichette, Carlos Correa, and DJ LeMahieu. The Red Sox have the highest OPS in baseball because their elite hitters have performed at an elite level.

2. Despite lacking an ace, the rotation is solid

Ten American League starters have an ERA below 3.00 this season, and none of them pitch for the Red Sox. No Sox pitchers rank among the top 10 in strikeouts or WHIP either, but the Red Sox rotation ranks fifth in ERA and seventh in both strikeouts and WHIP. The group has been without a singular ace, but also without a black hole. Nathan Eovaldi at 4.50 is the only Red Sox starter with an ERA over 4.15, and his expected ERA is quite a bit lower (he also leads the team in strikeouts and ranks second to Nick Pivetta with a 1.18 WHIP). Even their sixth starter, Tanner Houck, has been effective.

That depth may be further challenged in the future — especially with Houck and Connor Seabold on the Triple-A injured list — but the rotation has done its job while awaiting Sale’s return from Tommy John surgery. Compared to free-agent starters who signed for similar money, Garrett Richards has been far better than Drew Smyly and José Quintana, and roughly equivalent to Corey Kluber, while Martín Pérez has been more durable than either Chris Archer or Jon Lester and more effective than Jake Arrieta.

3. Still room for improvement

At the start of the season, a hypothetical first-place Red Sox team might have included a thunderously productive Bobby Dalbec and a breakthrough season by Franchy Cordero, a next-level performance from Kiké Hernández and a surprisingly good bullpen headlined by Barnes, Adam Ottavino and Darwinzon Hernandez. Those felt like the kind of X-factors that might push the Red Sox over the edge and back to relevance.

Instead, the Red Sox have gotten there while only one slice of one of those best-case scenarios has actually happened (Barnes). The other players have largely underperformed or been too erratic to count on day to day.

That suggests the Red Sox have reached this point without a miraculous series of unsustainable performances. Martinez bounced back, Devers and Bogarts are having career years, and Barnes has a new approach carrying him to a new level (same for Pivetta to some extent), but as most facets of the roster actually have room to get even better, there isn’t a sense of inevitable decline around the corner.

That’s not to say the Red Sox won’t slip in the coming months. Martinez, Bogaerts and Devers could cool down, Barnes could let a few more saves slip away and the rotation’s depth could be challenged as the workload adds up. A million unexpected, unforeseen things could happen between today and Game 1 of the playoffs. But the idea that the Red Sox can compete and contend at this stage of Bloom’s long-term strategy, while still waiting for the next wave of homegrown talent, is no longer hypothetical. We’re seeing it play out on the field.

It’s not an “I told you so” moment just yet, but Bloom can point to this team as a proof of concept. It’s possible to build for the future, and win in the present, all at the same time.

* Associated Press

Ohtani’s 2-out, 2-run HR in 9th sends Angels over Bosox 6-5

BOSTON (AP) — Shohei Ohtani stepped to the plate, trying to keep his slumping team in the game.

He did more than that, delivering what he called the most important home run of his four-season career in the majors.

Ohtani hit a two-out, two-run drive in the ninth inning and the Los Angeles Angels rallied past the Boston Red Sox 6-5 Sunday, ending a four-game losing streak.

“Coming off a losing streak and the first two games of the series, the way we lost, it wasn’t a good way to lose,” Ohtani said through a team translator. “So, it was huge for us and the team to come up with this. We showed that we can beat any team.”

Boston closer Matt Barnes (1-1) retired the first two batters in the ninth before giving up a bloop single to Mike Trout.

Ohtani followed with his major league high-tying 12th home run, tucked just inside the Pesky Pole in right field. It was Ohtani’s second homer of the series and stopped Boston’s three-game winning string.

“I personally think he’s the most physically gifted baseball player that we’ve ever seen,” Barnes said.

“I don’t know that you’re ever going to see someone who can throw 100, 101 and hit the ball 600 feet. He’s a special player and incredibly talented. Hopefully, he stays healthy and has a long career,” he said.

Raisel Iglesias (2-2) pitched a scoreless eighth and Mike Mayers recorded his second save of the season.

Drew Butera’s two-run single capped a four-run second off Nathan Eovaldi that put the Angels ahead 4-0.

Rafael Devers hit a three-run drive and Kevin Plawecki hit his first homer in a four-run fifth that gave Boston a 5-4 lead.

Eovaldi allowed four runs with six strikeouts in five innings. Angels starter Jose Quintana gave up three runs in 4 1/3 innings, striking out seven.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Angels: Ohtani’s next pitching start has been pushed back a day, to Tuesday against Cleveland, because of fatigue. ... OF Justin Upton was not in the lineup. Manager Joe Maddon said it was a scheduled day of rest… INF David Fletcher was not in the starting lineup because he is dealing with what Maddon called an issue in the groin/hip area…RHP Alex Cobb (right middle finger blister) is progressing and could return later in the week.

Red Sox: RHP Garrett Whitlock was reinstated Sunday from the COVID-19-related injured list. ... OF/INF Kiké Hernandez continues to rehab from a right hamstring strain. He played center field for Triple-A Worcester Sunday, recording five RBIs on two homers, including the first grand slam in the history of the team’s new park. ... INF Christian Arroyo (left hand contusion) was scheduled to hit off a tee on Sunday with a plan to take batting practice by Wednesday. ... Manager Alex Cora said OF/INF Danny Santana (severe right foot infection in spring training) is “almost there.”

UP NEXT

Angels: Open a 10-game homestand Monday, facing Cleveland for the first time this season. LHP Patrick Sandoval (0-0, 6.14 ERA) is scheduled to make his first start of the season, limited to 60-65 pitches after throwing 40 pitches in a two-inning relief appearance May 12. Indians rookie LHP Sam Hentges (1-0, 3.29 ERA) is scheduled to make his sixth career appearance, second career start.

Red Sox: After an off-day Monday, Boston faces Toronto for the start of a six-game road trip. Boston LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (5-1, 4.15 ERA) and Toronto LHP Hyun Jin Ryu (3-2, 2.95) are scheduled to face off for the second time this season. Rodriguez earned the win on April 20 at Boston, with six strikeouts in six innings, while Ryu took the loss, allowing four runs in five innings.