The Boston Red Sox could not afford to stumble through a September home series against one of the American League’s worst teams.

That is exactly what happened.

Boston fell into a six-run hole and never fully recovered Wednesday night, suffering a disappointing 6-4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels at Fenway Park. The defeat gave Los Angeles, which entered the night with a 55-90 record, wins in two of the three games in the series. The Red Sox dropped to 80-67 and finished their six-game homestand with a 3-3 record. They also remained eight games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East after missing another chance to strengthen their postseason position.

Red Sox Buried By Disastrous Third Inning

Boston starter J. Bennett kept the Angels scoreless through the first two innings, but the game unraveled quickly in the third. Zach Neto launched a three-run home run over the Green Monster to give Los Angeles the lead. Mike Trout then reached base before Jose Siri crushed a two-run homer to right-center field, making it 5-0 before Boston recorded its first hit.

FINAL: Angels 6, #RedSox 4

— Red Sox (@RedSox) September 10, 2026

Denzer Guzman added a solo home run in the fourth, giving the Angels three homers and a commanding 6-0 advantage. Bennett eventually settled down enough to complete 5 1/3 innings, but the early damage was too much to overcome. The left-hander allowed six earned runs on nine hits with two strikeouts and one walk while falling to 9-7.

It was an especially frustrating performance because Boston’s bullpen kept the Angels scoreless for the remainder of the game. The Red Sox simply had left themselves with too much work to do.

MORE: Red Sox Legend Pedro Martinez Makes Obvious Aaron Judge Admission

Boston’s Comeback Attempt Comes Up Short

The Red Sox finally broke through against Angels starter Ryan Johnson in the fifth inning. Jarren Duran reached base before Roman Anthony launched a 418-foot, two-run home run to right field. Wilyer Abreu followed with a 408-foot solo blast in the sixth, trimming the deficit to 6-3 and giving the Fenway Park crowd some reason to believe.

Boston could not generate anything in the seventh or eighth innings, however, leaving the club with one final opportunity against Angels closer Ben Joyce. Duran scored on Nate Eaton’s RBI single in the ninth, pulling the Red Sox within two runs. Anthony then came to the plate with a chance to keep the rally alive, but he flied out to right field to end the game.

The Red Sox collected eight hits and hit two home runs, but they stranded six runners. Johnson earned the victory after holding Boston to three runs on five hits over six innings. Losing one game to a struggling Angels team would have been frustrating. Dropping the final two games and losing the series at Fenway made it significantly worse.

With the regular season entering its final weeks, Boston no longer has many opportunities it can afford to waste.

More Red Sox