Red Sox drop series finale to Guardians, 5-4, to finish off a 3-7 homestand

BOSTON -- The Red Sox returned home from their season-opening road trip with a surprising 7-3 record. Most expected the Red Sox to be in pretty decent shape when they hit the road again following a 10-game homestand.

But maybe the Red Sox should have never returned to Fenway Park. They went just 3-7 on their first homestand of the year, and are sitting at .500 following a 5-4 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday.

Errors leading to unearned runs were once again an issue for the Boston defense on Thursday. Miscues by shortstop David Hamilton and fill-in third baseman Pablo Reyes -- both of whom are up to three errors on the season -- led to three unearned runs for Cleveland, which is kind of a big deal in a one-run game. 

Hamilton's fielding error led to Cleveland's first run of the game in the top of the third, tying things at 1-1. Reyes (starting in place of Rafael Devers) started the fifth inning by making an errant throw to first on a grounder by Ramon Laureano, who came around to score a few batters later to give Cleveland a 3-1 lead. The Guardians scored another run on a fielder's choice to make it a 4-1 game.

The Red Sox are now up to 20 errors over the first 20 games of the season, leading to 26 unearned runs. They lead the Majors in both categories.

Boston made it interesting with a three-run sixth inning, cutting Cleveland's lead to 5-4. It was all Jarren Duran in the frame, as he drove in two runs with a triple to deep center and then touched home plate on a balk by Carlos Carassco. 

But the Red Sox never got any closer, and now sit at 10-10 on the season as they hit the road again. Boston will play three in Pittsburgh against the 11-8 Pirates, before heading to Cleveland for three games against the Guardians.