Red Sox can't capitalize on late chances vs. Cardinals

ST. LOUIS -- The chances were there. The hits were not.

The Red Sox put runners in position late but couldn’t deliver, falling 3-2 to the Cardinals on Friday night at Busch Stadium.

Boston managed just five hits and didn’t draw a walk, continuing an early-season trend of inconsistent offense. Its best opportunity came in the eighth inning, when the Red Sox put runners on the corners with one out. But Masataka Yoshida struck out and Willson Contreras flied out to center, ending the threat and preserving a one-run deficit.

It was a missed chance in a game where opportunities were limited -- and costly.

“We had our chances, but we’ve got to be better offensively,” manager Alex Cora said. “No walks, you always look at that as an indicator.”

The Red Sox briefly found a way in the fourth inning, manufacturing two runs to take a 2-1 lead. Yoshida led off with a single and eventually scored on Trevor Story’s fielder’s choice. Later in the inning, Marcelo Mayer was in a rundown long enough to allow Story to steal home, giving Boston a short-lived advantage.

The steal of home was the first of Story’s career, a rare moment of aggressiveness for a lineup that otherwise struggled to generate much rhythm.

Rookie left-hander Connelly Early kept Boston in the game despite early traffic, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the second inning while allowing just one run. He finished with one run allowed on five hits and two walks across 4 1/3 innings, striking out five while throwing 86 pitches.

“I just think one inning kind of killed me -- a lot of pitches,” Early said. “Outside of that, I felt like I did a pretty solid job.”

Cora echoed that sentiment, noting improvements from the rookie despite the abbreviated outing.

“I thought his four-seamer was a lot better,” Cora said. “He threw more strikes. But he wasn’t that efficient, and we were getting to a point in the game where it made sense to go to the bullpen.”

But the bullpen couldn’t hold the lead.

Zack Kelly entered in the fifth and immediately ran into trouble, allowing three straight Cardinals to reach base. St. Louis tied the game and took the lead on a sacrifice fly shortly after, handing Boston a deficit it wouldn’t overcome.

“I didn’t execute,” Kelly said. “Connelly put us in a good position to win that game, and I just didn’t do my job.”

On the other side, Dustin May turned in his sharpest outing of the season, holding the Red Sox to two runs (one earned) over six innings without issuing a walk.

Facing his former club, May worked ahead in counts and kept Boston off balance, throwing strikes early and forcing quick at-bats throughout the night.

“He made a lot of competitive pitches when he had to,” Red Sox hitting coach Peter Fatse said. “When he needed to execute, he did.”

Boston had one last shot in the ninth but went down quietly, dropping to 4-9 on the season.

Through 13 games, the Red Sox offense has shown flashes, but performances like Friday -- limited traffic, no walks and missed opportunities late -- have made it difficult to sustain momentum.

“There’s more to be desired,” Fatse said. “We know what we’re capable of. It’s just a matter of stringing things together.”