Boston Red Sox Manager Laments Missed Opportunities In Loss to St. Louis Cardinals

The Boston Red Sox entered Friday night having appeared to turn a corner offensively, scoring 20 runs in the four games leading up to the series opener in St. Louis. However, Boston was unable to capitalize on a late-inning opportunity, falling 3-2 to the Cardinals  in the series opener.

St. Louis starter Dustin May entered Friday night's game having allowed 13 earned runs on 17 hits across 7. 1 innings in his first two starts of the season.

It represented a perfect opportunity for Boston to put its early-season woes in the rearview and string together their third straight win, and inch closer to what Red Sox manager Alex Cora called a reset point of . 500 . Instead, the Boston offense struggled mightily against May, who turned in six innings of two-run baseball (one earned), allowing just four hits against his former team.

Red Sox hitting coach Pete Fatse met with the media following the loss, discussing what made May so effective against the offense: "He made a lot of really competitive pitches when he had to," Fatse told reporters . Game 12 notes: -Dustin May twirled six frames of one-run ball, surrendering 0 BB with 4 K -Jordan Walker laced two hits, continuing his hot start -Riley O'Brien shut the door in the 9th inning, punching out Marcelo Mayer to end the game. He's been lights-out pic.