5 points from Red Sox' series win against Angels originally aired on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Red Sox successfully completed their West Coast trip with a series win in Anaheim.
Boston improved to 7-3 on the season, winning two of three games from the Los Angeles Angels, including Sunday's series finale. The team returns to Fenway Park just one game behind the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East.
The Red Sox' home opener is set for Tuesday at 2:10 p.m. ET vs. the Baltimore Orioles. This will be the third consecutive game against the current American League East champions.
First, here are five takeaways from the Angels series.
Back to square one at shortstop
Another year, another terrible Trevor Story injury. The Red Sox shortstop suffered a shoulder subluxation in Friday night's game, and while the extent of the injury is unknown, it appears he could miss significant time.
Story didn't light it up at the plate, but his defense will be greatly missed. The two-time All-Star had settled into the shortstop spot since returning from elbow surgery last season. When he was sidelined, the Red Sox experienced atrocious defense at the position along with Quique Hernandez and several other fillers. Boston has found itself in that position again after failing to strengthen its infield defense this winter.
After placing Story on the 10-day disabled list, the Red Sox recalled middle infielder David Hamilton and placed him on the roster at that position. Hamilton struggled mightily at both the plate and in the field during his brief MLB stint last year. The 26-year-old appeared in 13 games as a shortstop, batting just .121 (4 hits for 33 at bats) and making two errors.He's not a long-term solution at this position, but he's worth keeping an eye on. hit a solo home run In his first at-bat of the year on Sunday, he hit the first home run of his major league career.
One option for the Red Sox is to move rookie Sedan Rafaela from center field to shortstop. In this scenario, Jalen Duran would be moved to center and Tyler O'Neal and Wylya Abreu would be slotted into the corner outfield spots. Of course, losing Rafaela's central defender is not ideal.
Vaughn Grissom, acquired from the Atlanta Braves in the Chris Sale trade, could take over at shortstop once he returns from injury. He was expected to be the team's starting second baseman, but Story's injury may have derailed those plans. The middle infield could feature Grissom at shortstop and a combination of Emmanuel Valdez and Pablo Reyes at second.
Regardless of what the Red Sox do with their current roster, the defense will be hit hard without Story on the left side of the infield.
Pitchers continue to live up to expectations
What was expected to be a weakness for the Red Sox has turned out to be a strength so far in 2024.
Through the first 10 games of the season, pitching was of little concern for Boston. The Red Sox starting pitcher, who had strong performances in Seattle and Oakland, returned to form in Anaheim, pitching 14 innings and allowing just one earned run.
Cutter Crawford allowed one earned run on two hits and three walks in the series opener. The right-hander struck out five Angels batters in 4.2 innings pitched. It wasn't his most efficient game, but the defense didn't do him any favors and he committed three errors. The bullpen stepped up the rest of the game, allowing only one earned run in an 8-6 victory.
Garrett Whitlock took the mound in Game 2 and pitched 4.1 innings, allowing no earned runs. He allowed four hits and four walks and had four strikeouts. The bullpen did the rest of the work, but an error by Rafael Devers made the difference, allowing the Angels two runs in the sixth inning, resulting in a 2-1 loss.
Tanner Hawk, who had a stellar performance in Oakland, doubled in six scoreless innings in Anaheim. The right-hander allowed four hits and two walks and had seven strikeouts in a 12-2 victory. He hasn't conceded a goal yet this season.
The Red Sox pitcher currently leads the league in ERA (1.49), WHIP (0.96), and strikeouts (105)… just as anyone expected…
Offseason reinforcements are remarkable.
Tyler O'Neal is a continuing gift to this Red Sox lineup. The right-handed slugger, acquired in a secret contract with the St. Louis Cardinals, hit three home runs in this series, including two in the opening game, and continued to be active at bat. In these three games, he had 4 hits in 7 at bats, 3 RBIs, 2 hit by pitches, and 1 walk.
With Story out, O'Neal will become even more important to the Red Sox' left-handed lineup. He has hit five home runs on the year.
New Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow's other offseason additions didn't get much buzz at the time, but they proved important to the bullpen. Justin Slaten, who was acquired from the New York Mets after being acquired from the Texas Rangers in the Rule 5 Draft, has been reluctant. The 26-year-old right-hander struck out five of the six batters he faced in Game 2 against the Angels. He allowed just one hit, no walks, and zero earned runs through the first 5.1 innings of his major league career.
Right-hander Greg Weissert, acquired from the New York Yankees in the Alex Verdugo deal, still has a 0.00 ERA despite Saturday's loss. Isaiah Campbell, who arrived via Seattle in the Luis Urias deal, struck out his team in the series opener but failed to make a save in Game 2.
It's too early to judge Breslow's first offseason in the front office, but the newcomers played a big role in the club's encouraging start.
Power surge of O'Neal and McGuire's lead batting lineup
The Red Sox hit nine home runs in the series, five in the opener and four in the final inning.
O'Neal and normally light-hitting catcher Reese McGuire combined for five. After only hitting one home run in 72 games played last year, McGwire hit two in Anaheim.
He hit a two-run home run in Game 1 of the series and a three-run bomb in the softball game.
In Games 1 and 3, the Angels' pitching staff had no answer to Boston's onslaught. O'Neal and Triston Casas hit back-to-back home runs in the opening game, and Rafael Devers hit back-to-back with O'Neal in Sunday's win.
David Hamilton and Jalen Duran contributed the other two home runs in the series.
Dalbec was named to the Red Sox' Opening Day roster over veteran first baseman CJ Cron. Whatever the reason, the club remains hopeful that his success in Triple-A will lead to the majors. That's wishful thinking.
Not only was Dalbec hitless in five games, he looked completely outplayed in every at-bat. The 28-year-old has struck out in six of his eight at-bats.
Perhaps Dalbec can help with his defensive versatility while Story is out. If needed, he could be placed at shortstop or elsewhere in the infield.
On top of that, it makes absolutely no sense for Dalbec to be on a major league roster. He is with Worcester and hit 33 home runs in 114 games last year.
