Red Sox Fall to 1-4, Devers Struggles in DH Role

The Boston Red Sox are 1-4 to begin the 2025 MLB season after losing to the Baltimore Orioles on Monday by a score of 8-5. The Red Sox haven’t won since Opening Day, and while it’s still early it’s been a rough start for a team with World Series aspirations.

Monday’s series opener in Baltimore saw the Red Sox trot out first-year Boston hurler Sean Newcomb against Orioles youngster Cade Povich. Newcomb, who recorded 164.0 IP for the Braves in ’18 and has just 167.0 IP in the six seasons since, struggled early in his Red Sox debut. Baltimore tagged four runs on Newcomb in the first inning.

The Orioles didn’t score again until the 8th when they plated four against Boston reliever Justin Slaten who was unable to record a single out. Offensively, 2024 All-Star Jarren Duran recorded three RBI, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the division rival.

Designated hitter Rafael Devers walked twice but finished 0-for-3 with three strikeouts.

That runs his total up to 0-for-19 with 15 K’s on the year.

Devers was vocal about his unwillingness to change positions after the team brought in 3B Alex Bregman in the offseason. He eventually relented and became open to slotting in as a DH.

The move is off to a disastrous start. It’s unclear if Devers sitting idly in between plate appearances is the cause for his woes at the plate. Manager Alex Cora will have a decision to make if the struggles continue.

For what it’s worth, all players involved in the rift between Devers and the team have struggled.

Bregman is 5-for-22 (.227 AVG) with zero extra-base hits.

There were some rumblings that Devers could be moved to 1B with Bregman’s arrival. Tristan Casas, Boston’s starting first baseman, is 1-for-17 (.059 AVG) to begin the year.

It’s still extremely early. By season’s end, it’s unlikely the Red Sox will rank near the bottom of every major batting category. Still, their slow start and the Devers/DH experiment will be something to monitor.