BOSTON — Instant reactions as the Red Sox (64-52) lose and snap a seven-game win streak, falling, 7-3, to Kansas City behind struggling righties Dustin May and Jordan Hicks:
1) The Red Sox acquired May with high hopes that their pitching department could unlock some things that would help him find immediate improvement. His first week didn’t bear much fruit.
May lasted just 3 ⅔ innings in his Red Sox debut as Kansas City had constant traffic on the basepaths and drove his pitch count up fast. He allowed six hits while walking a batter and hitting two more with a pitch. He needed 91 pitches to get 11 outs.
May escaped a jam in the first but wasn’t as lucky in the third when Mike Yastrzemski hit a leadoff double, then scored when Bobby Witt Jr. singled him home. A Kyle Isbel bloop single — the third straight hit off May in the fourth — gave the Royals a lead.
It was May’s shortest start in 18 tries this year.
2) May didn’t pitch the Red Sox out of the game. Fellow newcomer Jordan Hicks did. Hicks, who has had few clean outings in recent weeks, allowed back-to-back one-out singles in the seventh before Jonathan India took him deep into the Monster seats and grew the Royals’ lead from 3-2 to 6-2.
Hicks was part of the return for Rafael Devers and he’s under contract through 2027. At some point, you have to wonder if the Sox will eat his remaining money and cut bait in the interest of getting better (and younger) arms into their bullpen mix.
3) It’s not every night you see a franchise record at Fenway. A sell-out crowd did Wednesday.
Boston hit five different batters with a pitch, marking the first time in the history of the club that has happened. May drilled two, Chris Murphy had back-to-back beanballs to lead off the sixth and Isaiah Campbell hit Randal Grichuk to lead off the eighth.
4) In an ironic twist, it was Yastrzemski who prevented a storybook moment at Fenway. Roman Anthony, fresh off putting pen to paper on an eight-year, $130 million extension that’ll link him to the Red Sox through 2034, roped a 105.1 mph, 374-foot fly ball to the deepest part of right field but Yastrzemski reached up and caught it, potentially robbing the rookie of a go-ahead homer.
It would have been a homer in the other 29 parks. Anthony can explore signing in one of those 29 places in a decade when he’s a free agent in a decade.
5) Duran’s stellar grab in deep center was the most impressive defensive play by the Sox all night. But the worst came milliseconds later. Duran’s relay went to second baseman Ceddanne Rafaela, who threw to … no one. His toss to first sailed because no one was covering the base. Runners took second and third but ended up not scoring.
Alex Bregman had an error for the second straight night. After a long stretch without a miscue (since April 20), two balls have eaten him up in the last two nights.
6) Royals starter Michael Wacha, who pitched for the Red Sox in 2022, did what he does, putting together a competitive outing. He allowed two runs (both on a Romy Gonzalez two-run double in the first) on five hits in six clean innings.
Very quietly, the 34-year-old has been one of the most consistent pitchers in the game in recent years. He threw just 74 pitches in Kansas City’s win.
7) By failing to complete a perfect homestand by losing for the first time in six tries at Fenway, Boston lost a game in the AL East race. They now trail the Blue Jays by four games after Toronto beat the brakes off the Rockies, 20-1, earlier in the day.
The Yankees also won in Texas.
8) The Red Sox are off Thursday before heading west for a tough road trip. It’ll begin with Boston’s bi-annual visit to Xander Bogaerts, Don Orsillo and the Padres at Petco Park. Here’s the schedule:
Friday, 9:40 p.m. ET — RHP Walker Buehler (6-6, 5.74 ERA) vs. TBD
Saturday, 8:40 p.m. ET — RHP Lucas Giolito (8-2, 3.57 ERA) vs. TBD
Sunday, 4:10 p.m. ET — RHP Brayan Bello (8-5, 3.03 ERA) vs. TBD
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