The Boston Red Sox are yet to win a home game this season as the offense and particularly infield defense have struggled to support the starting pitching staff.
Instead of taking the chance to shake off a series sweep against the Baltimore Orioles, the Red Sox suffered a 7-0 shutout loss to the Los Angeles Angels. Boston extended the league lead in errors and unearned runs allowed. That started in the first inning when David Hamilton and Pablo Reyes could not connect on a pair of potential double-play balls, leading to three early runs.
“Double plays are game-changers and momentum-changers,” Alex Cora told reporters after the loss, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “If you turn them, the momentum turns to you. If you don’t turn them, the momentum stays with them. That’s what happened.”
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Ceddanne Rafaela followed that up when his cut-off throw short-hopped Triston Casas and rolled away, leading to another Los Angeles run. Those Red Sox mistakes are the ones Cora believes must be the priority in stopping.
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“Those are the ones that really bother me,” Cora offered. “The physical ones are part of it. We will make mistakes. We will make errors. I’ve made errors. The other ones are the ones we have to eliminate. The mental ones.”
The tough defense put Tanner Houck in poor position to succeed, allowing 12 hits and seven runs in 5 2/3 innings after two dominant outings to start his season.
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“Felt like I didn’t have the same bite as the last outings,” Houck told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage.
Falling back to 7-7, cleaning up the defense is the ultimate precursor to turning the tides on a recent slump for the Red Sox.
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“We work so hard to get it done,” Cora added. “We have to do it at 7:05.”
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“Flush it tonight, tomorrow’s a new day,” Houck said. “New sunrise. Try to put in work.”
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Red Sox Wrap: Boston Shows Similar Struggles, Falls To Angels
by Tim Crowley 2 Min Read
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Here are more notes from Friday’s Angels-Red Sox game…
— The Red Sox moves to 2-2 against the Angels this season.
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— Boston moves to 27-8 all-time in their yellow City Connect uniforms after the 2024 debut of the jerseys on Friday night.
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— The Red Sox entered play tied for second in baseball with 13 errors and made three more in the loss. Boston also leads the league with 19 unearned runs allowed.
— Jarren Duran reached base twice for the third-straight game after tallying a pair of two-hit games to close out the series against the Baltimore Orioles earlier in the week.
— Cora added that Boston will “probably stay away” from playing Rafael Devers again on Saturday as he works through shoulder soreness, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage.
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— Four games in, Boston still searches for its first win at Fenway Park in 2024.
“We don’t like losing, especially in front of our home fans,” Tyler O’Neill told reporters after the loss, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “It’s no fun. We want to put up more of a fight than we are right now.”
— The Red Sox continue the three-game set with the Angels on Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park. First pitch is set for 4:10 p.m. ET. You can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.
The 24-year-old forward had a career-high 68 points (27 goals, 41 assists) in 2024-25 with the Sabres before getting traded to Utah in June, 2025. Peterka posted 47 points (25 goals, 22 assists) through 82 games in his first year with the Mammoth.
“He’s got an elite shot. Probably gives us another look on the elbows in a power play situation. His power play minutes dipped a little bit last year; his 5-on-5 production has been really good, plays both wings, can probably play with a couple different types of centers,” Sweeney said.
Peterka had a similar assessment for himself.
“I think a pretty fast game, likes to score goals,” he said. “Just overall, exciting player that loves to make plays.”
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Sweeney also sees a versatility in Peterka’s game that can benefit his new teammates up and down the lineup.
“I think he fits into a good group age-wise because he’s able to have played in the league with all the experience he’s had, the success he’s had, so he can ride shotgun with David because he has had scoring,” Sweeney said. “He can go down and drive a line, which he has done.”
The prospect of him playing with someone like David Pastrnak is something that excites both Sweeney and Peterka.
“That would be pretty sick, not going to lie,” Peterka said. “If you have that caliber of a player, I think everyone wants to play with him. From the past, playing against him, even watching him, was always super special. I would be super honored, for sure.”
While Peterka has already played four full seasons in the NHL, he still has his whole career in front of him. He joins a young new wave of Bruins players – alongside the likes of Reichel, Fraser Minten, Marat Khusnutdinov and James Hagens – who will carve the future identity of the team. The ceiling is high for Peterka.
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“In JJ’s case, he has had success. We have to come in and put him in the right situations so he continues to score at the level we think he can. Morgan [Geekie] is a great example,” Sweeney said. “Did we think he was going to score 39 goals when we first acquired him? No. But that’s always the hope – that a player will take advantage of a new opportunity and playing with different types of players than what they were in their other environment.”
Peterka is ready for the challenge and to prove that he has another gear to his game to help the Bruins win.
“I think it’s always nice to have a fresh start. I think especially after the year I had last year where I wasn’t really happy with the performance I put on the ice,” Peterka said. “For me, I feel like it’s a fresh start. And for a team like Boston, it couldn’t be any better.”
Editor’s note:Follow live World Cup standings updates and analysis for the round of 32
Paraguay fans can breathe a sigh of relief, their team is headed to the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup.
Paraguay rebounded nicely after a tough first match against the United States, defeating Turkey and drawing Australia, finishing the group stage in third place and officially qualifying for the knockout rounds when Uruguay lost to Spain on Friday night.
However, it does not get easier from here, as Paraguay will take on Germany in the round of 32.
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SHOP: Paraguay vs. Germany World Cup tickets
The match will take place outside of Boston at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. and is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Here’s everything you need to know about how to buy tickets for Paraguay vs. Germany’s in the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup.
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Germany vs. Paraguay round of 32 World Cup ticket price
With its Group E win, Germany will play its Round of 32 match at Gillette Stadium on Monday, June 29. As of publication, the cheapest available tickets for Germany’s game in Boston start at $1,044.
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Germany World Cup Round of 32 game information
Where: Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
What time: 4:30 p.m. ET
Tickets: Starting at $826
When: Monday, June 29
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More:Here’s how to buy 2026 World Cup Final tickets in New York
When is Paraguay vs. Germany World Cup game?
Germany clinched the top spot in Group E on Saturday, its Round of 32 match will take place on Monday, June 29.
Where is Paraguay vs. Germany World Cup game?
Germany and Paraguay will play their round of 32 game outside of Boston. This will be the team’s first game in Foxborough, Mass. for the tournament.
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Germany World Cup schedule
Sunday, June 14: Germany def. Curaçao WIN 7-1
Saturday, June 20: Germany vs. Ivory Coast WIN 2-1
Thursday, June 25: Germany vs. Ecuador LOSS 2-1
Monday, June 29: Germany vs Paraguay in Boston (round of 32) – Shop tickets
Shop Germany vs. Paraguay World Cup tickets
World Cup Group E standings
Paraguay World Cup schedule
Paraguay vs. United States – LOSS 4-1
Paraguay vs. Turkey – WIN 1-0
Paraguay vs. Australia – DRAW 0-0
Monday, June 29 – Paraguay vs. Germany in Boston (round of 32) – Shop tickets
More: We ranked the 2026 FIFA World Cup jerseys, here are our favorites
The fifth World Cup match in Foxborough features two strong teams and two of the best strikers in the world.
Kylian Mbappé leads France against Erling Haaland and Norway in the final group-stage game being played in Foxborough. On Monday, Germany will take on a yet-to-be-determined opponent in a Round of 32 elimination game, and Foxborough’s final match will be a quarterfinal on July 9.
Here are scenes from Friday’s game from Globe photographers.
France superstar Kylian Mbappé (right) screams after one of teammate Ousmane Dembele’s goals.Christian Kantosky for The Boston Globe
France’s Jules Kounde (left) defends against Norway forward Andreas Schjelderup.Lane Turner/Globe Staff
France forward Ousmane Dembele celebrates after scoring one of his three first-half goals.Christian Kantosky for The Boston Globe
Erik Lunde, from California, attended the Group I match between France and Norway in Foxborough.Finn Gomez for The Boston Globe
Norway striker Erling Haaland, who did not start, warms up before the World Cup match against France.Christian Kantosky for The Boston Globe
Norway fans are fired up before the game against France.Lane Turner/Globe Staff
France forward Rayan Cherki (left) and Norway’s Erling Haaland, teammates at Manchester City, embrace before the start of the game.Lane Turner/Globe Staff
A Norway fan wore face paint and a Viking helmet for the game.Christian Kantosky for The Boston Globe
Norway fans filled the stands in Foxborough.Christian Kantosky for The Boston Globe
A France fan, complete with rooster headwear, waits for the start of the game.Lane Turner/Globe Staff
Robert Branchaud of Tewksbury is prepared for the Group I match between France and Norway.Finn Gomez for The Boston Globe
Fans begin to enter the stadium for the match between France and Norway.Finn Gomez for The Boston Globe
Howard Carlsson and Christian Loset of Drammen, Norway, pose for a photo before the game.Finn Gomez for The Boston Globe
Lane Turner can be reached at lane.turner@globe.com. Finn Gomez can be reached at finn.gomez@globe.com. Christian Kantosky can be reached at christian.kantosky@globe.com. Follow him on Instagram at @ckantoskyphoto.
