After losing three of their past four games at home, the Boston Red Sox will try to regroup on their six-game road swing. That journey begins when they open a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night. The Red Sox are coming off a 7-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night in one their best offensive games of the month. Jarren Duran (3-for-5, homer, two doubles, two runs) and Rafael Devers (2-for-4, homer, two runs) led the attack. Devers has hit a homer in consecutive games while Duran is 5-for-8 with four doubles and three runs in his past two outings. But since May 2, the Red Sox have scored three or fewer runs nine times. They went 4-9 during that period to fall further off the pace in the American League East. The Red Sox will open the series with starting pitcher Brayan Bello (4-1, 3.13 ERA), who came off the 15-day injured list to earn a 3-2 victory over the Washington Nationals in his most recent start. He allowed those two runs on four hits over five innings while striking out one and walking two. “For his first one coming out of the IL? Good,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Gave us five, two runs. So now he’ll be ready for the next one.” Right lat tightness had knocked Bello out of the starting rotation for a few turns. “Feels good to be back, feels good to help the team win and also it feels good that a lot of good things are happening for us right now,” Bello told reporters through the team interpreter. “A lot of guys are coming back, so it feels really nice.” This will be his first career appearance against the Cardinals, who have lost 10 of their past 14 games. St. Louis will counter with starting pitcher Kyle Gibson (2-2, 3.67). He received a pair of no-decisions over his past two starts, allowing five runs (four earned) on 10 hits in 11 innings. Gibson struck out 11 and walked six in those games. He didn’t receive much in terms of run support, which has been a persistent problem for St. Louis this season. During their 7-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday, the Cardinals were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. They went 11-for-73 while posting a 3-4 record on their trip against the Milwaukee Brewers and Angels. Still, St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said he believes his team is in a better place ahead of this Boston series after taking two of three from the Angels. “Road trip started in a bad way,” Marmol said Wednesday in Anaheim Calif. “Look at how those first games, especially that second game in Milwaukee (an 11-2 loss last Friday). They weren’t good at all. The third game (a 5-3 loss last Saturday) I actually felt like we got beat. We didn’t beat ourselves. And that was the turning point for how the rest of the series went in Milwaukee and how the first two games went here. Feel good going back home. Really do. “We’re in a much better spot. All areas of the game look like they’re supposed to right now. The offense is starting to click. And that’s what we’ve been missing. It feels right.” Gibson is 4-4 with a 3.41 ERA in 10 career starts against the Red Sox. –Field Level Media Copyright 2024 Field Level Media. All Rights Reserved. This story was originally published May 17, 2024, 6:10 AM. Discover Gbujah: Grab all channels for life at $49 Techno Mag | Sponsored All TV Channels for Only $49 (Buy Now) Techno Mag | Sponsored Are you experiencing issues with your joints? TODAY | Sponsored Learn More Gbujah:Those who have pain in the knees and hip joints, remember Nigerian ballet star Augustina Aigbiniode | Sponsored Learn More Crossout 2.0: Supercharged Check out the new Crossout 2.0 for free. Discover PvP and PvE in our upgraded Action MMO. Countless unique Vehicles, PvE and PvP, Trading. Are you ready? Destroy vehicles your opponent took hours to craft and enjoy. Join now for Free Crossout | Sponsored Play Now Unleash Your Brain’s Superpowers Elevate Your Mental Clarity and Focus with Our Premium Whole Foods Superfood Powder Enriched with a Cognitive Mushroom Blend! BrickHouse Nutrition | Sponsored Shop Now Take Us With You Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. KANSAS CITY STAR APP SUBSCRIPTIONS Start a Subscription Customer Service eEdition Vacation Hold Pay Your Bill LEARN MORE About Us Contact Us Newsletters Archives Sports Betting Personal Finance ADVERTISING McClatchy Advertising Place an Ad Place a Classified Ad Place an Ad – Celebrations Place an Obituary Staffing Solutions Political | Advocacy Advertising Part of the McClatchy Media Network COPYRIGHT COMMENTING POLICY PRIVACY POLICY COOKIE PREFERENCES YOUR PRIVACY CHOICES TERMS OF SERVICE CLOSE Want to continue reading Kansas City news uninterrupted? FREEunlimited digital access for 48 hours. Answer one quick question. CONTINUE
