{"id":130033,"date":"2026-05-14T23:22:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T02:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/red-sox-fall-to-phillies-in-series-opener-at-fenway-park\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T23:22:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T02:22:09","slug":"red-sox-fall-to-phillies-in-series-opener-at-fenway-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/red-sox-fall-to-phillies-in-series-opener-at-fenway-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Sox fall to Phillies in series opener at Fenway Park"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\u201cThe first three innings were too quick for us,\u201d Abreu said. \u201cI think we had to change our approach and see more pitches and try to get a mistake.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The efficiency gave Phillies manager Don Mattingly flashbacks to Hall of Fame Braves ace Greg Maddux.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re thinking \u2018Maddux\u2019 at that point,\u201d Mattingly said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a \u2018Maddux\u2019 game.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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On the way to a 2-1 loss<\/a>, the Sox lineup had no answers for Wheeler and by the time he was done with his 7\u2153 innings of work, it was too late to come up with one.<\/span><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until the fourth inning that the Sox decided to settle into the box for a while.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe guys were aware,\u201d interim manager Chad Tracy<\/a> said. \u201cThey\u2019re smart enough to know. They looked up in the fourth and saw what the number was.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Duran stretched his second at-bat to nine pitches, but couldn\u2019t resist swinging. The mini-battle ended when he waved at a 95.8-mile-per-hour fastball up and in. Gasper, Abreu, and Masataka Yoshida<\/a> all tried to show traces of patience the second time around, but Gasper still flew out after five pitches, Abreu singled on four, and Yoshida lined the fifth pitch he saw to shortstop to end the inning.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt that point there, they kind of realized, like, we at least got to try to drag it out a little bit, and that\u2019s when the at-bats started to improve,\u201d Tracy said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Through four innings, Wheeler was still sitting at a modest 36 pitches. After striking out Duran to end the sixth, Wheeler walked off the mound at 59 pitches thrown.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Brayan Bello leaves the game in the eighth inning after allowing one run on four hits in 6 1\/3 innings.<\/span>Barry Chin\/Associated Press<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Still, protecting a 2-0 lead, his margin for error was thin. Kyle Schwarber gave him an early lead with a 386-foot homer off Sox opener Jovani Mor\u00e1n into the Phillies bullpen in the first inning. It was his fifth homer in as many games \u2014 a Phillies record \u2014 and his 17th this season. Bryson Stott\u2019s ground-rule double over the short fence off bulk starter Brayan Bello<\/a> pushed the lead to 2-0 in the second.<\/span><\/p>\n

After using the Mor\u00e1n-Bello combination last week against the Tigers and seeing the results in a 10-3 win, Tracy decided to go back to it to keep Bello from dealing with Philadelphia\u2019s lefthanded hitters.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was awesome last time we did it coming out,\u201d he said. \u201cI think that probably one outing is not enough to say that [it\u2019s helping Bello]. More like, [with] Harper and Schwarber, if we can try it again, it seems like a good way to try it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite Wheeler\u2019s early dominance and the pair of early runs, the strategy still gave the Sox a chance in the final frames. Bello gave the Sox 6\u2153 innings, allowing one run on four hits with five strikeouts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, the opener gives up a run, and then Bello gives up a run in the bottom half, so not, you know, the exact result you wanted,\u201d Tracy said. \u201cBut [Bello] was outstanding. . . . It was really good from that perspective.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Given the results, Tracy didn\u2019t rule out the possibility of using the strategy again the next time Bello takes the mound.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll look at it as we get closer, take a look,\u201d Tracy said. \u201cIt\u2019s always going to be dependent on the bullpen or whatever. We haven\u2019t talked about it yet, but we\u2019ll definitely look at it. But obviously no secret about how well he\u2019s done so far.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Sox lineup eventually cracked Wheeler in the seventh inning, getting a Wall-ball RBI single from Ceddanne Rafaela that cut the lead in half.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wheeler allowed one run on six hits with four strikeouts before handing the ball over to Jos\u00e9 Alvarado to finish the eighth inning. Jhoan Duran closed the door in the ninth on a Sox offense that had no answers all night and didn\u2019t find any late.<\/span><\/p>\n

With three losses in their past four games, the Sox fell to 17-24, 7-13 at home, and 7-7 since replacing manager Alex Cora<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Said Trevor Story, who went 1 for 3 with a walk: \u201cI know it doesn\u2019t look good right now, but we\u2019ve just got to keep pushing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Julian Benbow can be reached at julian.benbow@globe.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n