Boston Red Sox End Grapefruit League Play With A Dud

Final spring tune-up highlights readiness over results as Opening Day looms If there was ever a reminder that spring training results don’t tell the full story, the Red Sox saved it for the very end. Boston closed out its Grapefruit League schedule with a 15-6 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday - a game that felt far more like a final tune-up than anything worth overanalyzing. The conditions didn’t help, with wind and bright skies turning routine fly balls into adventures, but the bigger takeaway was clear: This one was about getting ready, not getting results.

Nowhere was that more evident than with Ranger Suarez. Making his final start before the regular season, the left-hander was tagged for 8 earned runs on 9 hits over 4. 1 innings.

The stat line won’t look pretty, and a pair of two-run home runs - including a go-ahead shot by Byron Buxton - highlighted a rough fifth inning that swung the game for good. Mar 14, 2026; Miami, FL, United States; Venezuela starting pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) delivers a pitch against Japan in the third inning during a quarterfinal game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic at loanDepot Park. (Sam Navarro/Imagn Images) But context matters here.

Suarez’s primary goal wasn’t dominance, it was building stamina. He threw 69 pitches, worked into the fifth inning, and came out of it feeling physically ready for the games that actually count. For a pitcher coming off a ramp-up period, that’s the box that needed to be checked.