Red Sox Silenced by Dustin May in Cardinals Loss
St. Louis hosted a 3-2 win over Boston as the Red Sox offense went largely silent. Dustin May led the Cardinals through six efficient innings. The loss dropped Boston to 4-9 early in the season.
May sharp after slow start to year
Dustin May allowed two runs, one earned, over six innings. He surrendered four hits and struck out four while throwing 75 pitches.
May had struggled in his first two starts. He entered after allowing 13 earned runs and 17 hits in 7 1/3 innings. His ERA fell from 15.95 to 9.45 after this outing.
Boston’s offense sputters again
The Red Sox collected just five hits, four of them singles. They went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and struck out seven times.
Riley O’Brien closed with a clean ninth on eight pitches. Roman Anthony never appeared despite late chances.
Eighth-inning opportunity wasted
Ceddanne Rafaela led off the eighth with a bloop double. He advanced to third on a Jarren Duran flyout and had a chance to score.
Caleb Durbin was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Lefty JoJo Romero then retired Masataka Yoshida and Willson Contreras to strand the tying run.
Key plays and small-ball
The Sox took the lead in the fourth on heads-up baserunning. Trevor Story tied the game on a fielder’s choice and throwing error. Marcelo Mayer followed with a single.
With Mayer breaking for second, Story broke for home and scored on a steal of home. It was Boston’s first steal of home since last April.
Pitching notes and bullpen issues
Connelly Early worked into the fifth but again used many pitches. He endured 4 1/3 innings and was removed after 86 pitches.
Early has thrown 13 2/3 innings over three starts. The team remains short on middle-inning length from him.
High-leverage bridge still unsettled
Justin Slaten remains out, creating a vacancy in late-inning roles. Zack Kelly is a candidate to bridge to Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman.
Kelly entered in relief of Early in the fifth. A single by Jordan Walker and a walk to Ramón Urías preceded an RBI single by Thomas Saggese. José Fermín later hit a sacrifice fly. Kelly was charged with the loss.
Individual moments
- Willson Contreras received a warm ovation in his return to St. Louis from 27,125 fans. He finished 0-for-4 with two strikeouts but made notable defensive plays.
- Jarren Duran smoked a 114.7 mph grounder to second and was thrown out. He also made a strong throw trying to retire Walker on Saggese’s hit.
Outlook and next start
Boston faces an uphill climb to secure its second series win of 2026. The Sox are 1-4 in one-run games and risk dropping four of five series to open the season.
Ranger Suárez (0-1, 8.64 ERA) will take the mound for Boston on Saturday. The Cardinals will counter with Kyle Leahy (1-1, 5.40 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET with national coverage on FOX.
Report filed for Filmogaz.com.
