Red Sox reactions: Offense K’s 10 times vs. Cy Young winner; Brayan Bello scuffles in loss

BOSTON — Instant reactions as reigning Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal dominates the Red Sox (8-12) and the Tigers win, 4-1, at Fenway Park: 1) Considering how Boston’s offense has had trouble against some inexperienced, unproven and struggling pitchers so far this season, it was no surprise that Skubal proved to be a very tough task. The lefty struck out 10 Red Sox batters in six innings, allowing just one run while allowing four hits. At the start, it looked like Skubal had the stuff to flirt with a no-hitter.

Boston had just one baserunner and no hits through four innings, with Skubal striking out eight of the first 13 hitters he faced. 2) With Skubal going for the Tigers — and dominating — Brayan Bello had to be nearly perfect for the Red Sox . He was far from it, and that was clear from the jump, when he needed 35 pitches in a laborious first inning.

Bello allowed two singles and a walk before forcing in a run when he walked Kerry Carpenter with the bases loaded and two outs. With how Skubal looked early, Detroit’s 1-0 lead looked insurmountable, even that early in the game. 3) The real damage off Bello, though, came in the third, when he allowed four more runs on a homer to Carpenter, a Jake Rogers sacrifice fly and a McGonigle RBI single.

That was enough in the eyes of Alex Cora with Bello at 84 pitches. Bello pitched well in St. Louis on Sunday (2 runs in 6 ⅔ innings) but has now failed to get through five innings in three of his four starts.