ST. LOUIS -- The chances were there. The hits were not.
The Red Sox put runners on 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.
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 when Trevor Story grounded into a forceout. Later in the inning, Marcelo Mayer was in a rundown long enough to allow Story to steal home, giving Boston a short-lived advantage.
That was all the offense the Red Sox could muster.
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.
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.
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.
Boston had one last shot in the ninth but went down quietly, dropping to 4-9 on the season.