The early returns on the 2026 Boston Red Sox (1-2) have been…complicated.
Three games into the season isn’t nearly enough to draw sweeping conclusions, but if there’s been one consistent theme coming out of Cincinnati, it’s this:
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The pitching has been good enough, and the offense hasn’t held up its end of the bargain.
Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds (2-1) was the cleanest example yet.
Boston got exactly what it needed from Connelly Early in his first start of the season.
The rookie left-hander worked 5.1 innings of one-run baseball, showing poise and command even if the swing-and-miss stuff wasn’t quite as sharp as it looked late last year.
He got ahead of hitters, competed through long at-bats, and put the Red Sox in position to win.
That should have been enough.
It wasn’t.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early (71) throws a pitch in the second inning of the MLB Interleague game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, March 29, 2026. The game was scoreless after three innings. (Sam Greene/The Enquirer/USA TODAY NETWORK/Imagn Images)
The Red Sox managed just two runs, both coming on a Wilyer Abreu homer in the fourth inning – another reminder of how locked in he’s been dating back to his World Baseball Classic run and into the opening weekend.
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Abreu did his part again, adding multiple hits and continuing to look like one of the most dangerous bats in the lineup right now.
The problem is, he hasn’t had much help.
Boston went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position on Sunday, coming a day after a 2-for-14 showing in the same spots.
That’s not just bad luck – it’s a trend, even if it’s an early one.
Opportunities have been there, execution hasn’t.
Moments piled up.
Roman Anthony and Trevor Story couldn’t cash in early. Jarren Duran was picked off in a critical eighth-inning spot. Caleb Durbin’s tough start continued with another empty day at the plate, including a strikeout in a key late-game situation. Even when Andruw Monasterio doubled in the ninth to spark hope, the lineup couldn’t bring him home.
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And eventually, one mistake on the other side flipped the game.
Greg Weissert’s misplaced pitch in the sixth turned a tight, manageable situation into the deciding swing.
It’s a familiar formula. One the Red Sox were supposed to avoid this season.
The rotation looks capable of carrying its weight. But if the offense can’t consistently deliver in big spots, even strong pitching performances will feel a lot like this:
Not quite enough.
Cincinnati Reds first baseman Spencer Steer (7) gets the tag down as pitcher Tony Santillan (64) picks off Jarren Duran in the eighth inning of the MLB Interleague game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, March 29, 2026. The game was scoreless after three innings. The Reds won 3-2 to take the season-opening series from the Red Sox. (Sam Greene/The Enquirer/USA TODAY NETWORK/Imagn Images)
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Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He’s a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.