The Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds met on Friday night at Great American Ball Park for their first of three games this weekend, and Alex Cora's squad was handed a 5-2 loss.
Boston's bats, which had been hot over the last month, went quiet, as they struggled to figure out Cincinnati's pitching staff. They recorded just six hits and their only two runs came off of solo home runs from Jarren Duran (2-for-4) and Connor Wong (2-for-4) in the first three innings. They also struck out 14 times.
The Red Sox's arms weren't terrible either, with starting pitcher Kutter Crawford giving up three earned runs all on solo home runs in the first three innings. He gave up five runs total, but two came in a seventh inning that Boston had three errors, including a flip from reliever Cam Booser that went over catcher Connor Wong's head at the plate and allowed both runs to score.
Brad Keller also pitched in relief, throwing 1 1/3 scoreless innings while allowing just a hit and a walk.
This loss drops Boston to 40-36 on the season and 22-16 away from Fenway Park. It also ends their five-game winning streak, keeping them from winning six in a row for the first time this season,
The Red Sox and Reds will meet for the middle game of the series on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. ET.
