Reality sets in for Red Sox after being shut down by an old friend

Expectations were low for the Boston Red Sox entering the 2024 campaign, and for good reason. They had finished in last place in the AL East in each of the last two seasons and didn't do much of anything in the offseason. Their biggest offseason addition, Lucas GIolito, suffered an elbow injury that ended his season before it started. It was all bad.

Despite all of the bad energy, the Red Sox actually got off to a good start. They were forced to begin their season on a ten-game West Coast trip and made the most of it, going 7-3 in those games. Their pitching looked elite, and they had some big offensive games too.

Boston began its home season against a tough opponent and has seen reality set in already. They were blown out in the opener of the series, and then last night, after taking a 5-0 lead, proceeded to allow seven unanswered runs and take the loss. To make matters worse, an old friend sealed the deal.

Old friend helps let reality set in for the Red Sox

Armed with a 7-5 lead, former Red Sox closer, Craig Kimbrel, nailed down the save to give the Orioles a win. Kimbrel got the Red Sox down 1-2-3 with a pair of strikeouts. It was an impressive outing for Kimbrel who saved his second game of the season.

Losing a series to a team as good as the Orioles isn't anything to be ashamed of, but the Red Sox are showing the kind of team that they are. They went 7-3 against fairly easy opponents. The first time they're tasked with facing a true contender, they've folded.

Five of their seven wins have come against the Athletics and Angels, two teams expected to be among the worst teams in baseball. In their games against the Mariners and Orioles, two teams expected to compete, Boston is just 2-4. Awfully different than the 5-1 record against bottom feeders.

Boston is doing what they have to do against the bad teams, which is a good sign, but in order for them to defy expectations, they're going to have to play well against the good teams too. It's a very small sample, obviously, but they've been who we thought they were against the good teams.

The Red Sox don't face many formidable opponents in the month of April which should help them, but the way they've played against the Orioles doesn't give much of a reason to believe they'll be any better than expected.