The Red Sox looked like a team ready for a day off Wednesday night.

After playing 14 games in 13 days, Boston fell behind early and couldn’t completely dig its way out, dropping a 6-4 decision to the Angels at Fenway Park and losing two of three to a Los Angeles team that entered the night with one of the worst records in baseball.

The Red Sox fell to 80-67 and have lost two straight following a five-game winning streak. After an off day Thursday, they’ll open a three-game series against the Royals on Friday at Fenway.

For the second straight night, Boston’s offense took too long to get going. This time, Jake Bennett put the Red Sox in a hole they couldn’t overcome.

The rookie left-hander surrendered five runs in the third inning, with Zach Neto launching a three-run homer and Jose Siri following with a two-run shot.

Neto has hit safely in 16 of his last 20 games since Aug. 18, batting .373 (31-for-83) with five homers, 19 RBI and a 1.073 OPS during that stretch.

“It’s great,” Neto said to MLB.com after the game. “We’re trying to spoil people’s seasons and playoff hopes if we can’t get in. It’s a great team on the other side, but we did a pretty good job of maintaining and playing our game of baseball, and we got the series win.”

Siri went 2-for-4, including a two-run homer in the third that extended the Angels’ lead to 5-0. Siri has been much better on the road this season, batting .298 compared with .165 at home, with nine of his 10 multi-hit games coming away from home.

Denzer Guzman went 3-for-4, including a solo homer in the fourth that extended the Angels’ lead to 6-0. It marked his sixth game this season with at least three hits.

Bennett eventually allowed six runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out two over 5 1/3 innings.

The timing of Bennett’s struggles is noteworthy with the postseason approaching.

The best-of-three AL Wild Card round begins in 20 days, and Boston will have decisions to make with its rotation. Sonny Gray appears positioned to start Game 1, while Payton Tolle and Ranger Suarez have strengthened their cases for the other two spots.

Bennett, meanwhile, has suddenly developed a home run problem.

After allowing seven homers over his first 16 starts, Bennett has surrendered five in his last two. All three home runs he allowed Wednesday were hit hard, with two coming against his four-seam fastball and another against his cutter.

Roman Anthony finally broke through offensively, though his night still illustrated some of the issues he has been fighting lately.

Anthony snapped a 2-for-27 slump with a 418-foot, two-run homer to right in the fifth inning. The ball left his bat at 108.6 mph and cut Boston’s deficit to 6-2.

He also struck out three times and came to the plate representing the tying run with two outs in the ninth, only to line out to right to end the game.

Anthony has struck out 15 times over his last seven games. Swing-and-miss will always be part of his offensive profile, but the Red Sox need the power and on-base ability to balance it. Wednesday’s homer was at least a step in that direction.

Wilyer Abreu continued what has quietly become an impressive season.

Abreu hit his 24th home run in the sixth inning, giving him 62 extra-base hits. That ranks sixth in the majors, trailing only Pete Crow-Armstrong (76), Rafael Devers (72), Matt Olson (70), Yordan Alvarez (69) and Corbin Carroll (65).

His production can sometimes get lost because of the streaky nature of his season, but the extra-base totals have become difficult to overlook.

Caleb Durbin continued to strengthen his Gold Glove case at third base.

Durbin entered Wednesday leading American League third basemen with 11 defensive runs saved, trailing only the Cubs’ Alex Bregman (13) among all major league third basemen.

In the first inning, Durbin ranged for Siri’s 94.8 mph grounder and made a throw across the diamond. Siri was initially ruled safe, but Boston challenged and the call was overturned for the final out of the inning.

Durbin made another strong play in the fifth, ranging to his left and dropping to a knee to field Neto’s grounder before throwing him out at first.

Jarren Duran provided another defensive highlight in the fifth.

After Siri played a ball off the Green Monster, Duran barehanded it and fired to second to cut him down as he tried to stretch a single into a double. With Anthony having difficulty on a ball near the Monster on Tuesday, Duran’s defense in left could factor into how Boston constructs its postseason lineup, particularly with Anthony available at DH.

Christian Moore got a good jump, but Mickey Gasper didn’t give a damn. Good to see him make a throw like this in his first start at catcher since June. pic.twitter.com/WwtRb8YLdY

— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) September 10, 2026

Even Mickey Gasper got into the act defensively.

Gasper, making his first major league appearance behind the plate since June 22, threw out Christian Moore attempting to steal third in the sixth.

Gasper started behind the plate Wednesday as Adley Rutschman received a second straight game off after undergoing a cortisone injection in his ailing elbow following Monday’s game.

The Red Sox expect Rutschman to return to the lineup Friday against the Royals.

Boston showed some fight after falling behind 6-0, but the early damage was ultimately too much to overcome.

Nate Eaton snapped an 0-for-24 skid with an RBI single in the ninth, pulling the Red Sox within two runs at 6-4.

Angels starter Ryan Johnson allowed three runs on five hits over six innings, striking out five while throwing a career-high 103 pitches. The right-hander has a 2.11 ERA over his last seven starts dating to Aug. 6.

The Red Sox have dropped back-to-back games for the fourth time since Aug. 28 and are 7-8 over their last 15. 

Their struggles in deciding games continued Wednesday, falling to 5-15 in rubber games this season and 2-10 at Fenway. Boston has lost 12 of its last 14 rubber games overall.

Now, after a stretch of 14 games in 13 days, the Red Sox finally get Thursday off before beginning the final push toward October.