The Red Sox haven’t done themselves any favors early in games this season.
Through early June, Boston starters have been tagged for a 6.47 ERA in the first inning, with opposing hitters slashing .317/.383/.537 in those frames. According to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, each of those marks ranks among the three worst in Major League Baseball.
That early damage has often sunk them. The club has dropped 17 one-run games already, allowing at least one first-inning run in seven of those losses. Without an offense built to erase deficits quickly — at least not after injuries to Alex Bregman, Triston Casas and Masataka Yoshida — Boston hasn’t had much room for error.
Veteran righty Lucas Giolito, who surrendered four runs in the first inning of his most recent start, recognized the importance of sharper starts.
“I think it’s a matter of being prepared, being prepared to compete from pitch one,” Giolito told The Globe. “Having a high level of focus and intent right out of the gate and kind of dictating the game rather than letting the game dictate you.”
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In a rotation that has shown promise at times, those early lapses have loomed large — and costly.
Meanwhile, help from the injured list won’t arrive just yet. Kutter Crawford, the 29-year-old right-hander who was sidelined since March 27 with right patellar tendinopathy, had his planned minor league rehab start delayed. He’s now scheduled to have his wrist examined in Boston in the coming days. Any further setback would only stretch the rotation thinner — and make first-inning execution that much more vital.