Red Sox hope to turn their Fenway fortune on next homestand

CLEVELAND -- For the Red Sox, a road trip that started with a sweep in Pittsburgh ended with a hard-fought 6-4 loss to the Guardians on Thursday afternoon in the rubber match of a three-game series.

All in all, a 4-2 trip represents a success, considering the barrage of injuries that took place over the past week.

“It sucks we lost the series, but we played well,” manager Alex Cora said. “It was a good road trip at 4-2. So now we’ve just got to go home and figure that out.”

Here are three storylines to follow as the Sox head home for a pair of three-game sets against National League foes in the Cubs and Giants.

Some Fenway redemption
As Cora said, the Red Sox have to “figure that out,” meaning how to play better at home. They didn’t play well at Fenway in ‘22 (43-38) or ‘23 (39-42), and the first homestand of this season didn’t go well in any way for the Red Sox. They played shoddy defense while dealing with several -- you guessed it -- injuries.

A 3-7 record in the first taste of Fenway Park made the home crowd a little restless.

For the Red Sox to be a contender this season, they need to start owning Fenway again, opening with this next homestand. They will get a challenge right out of the gate, with Japanese rookie lefty Shota Imanaga (3-0, 0.84 ERA). Boston has early-season ace Kutter Crawford and his MLB-leading 0.66 ERA on the mound.

“It’s important,” Cora said of playing well at home. “We’ve got six games. But we’ve just got to play well. That’s what we want. We’ve got Kutter on the mound. He’s been throwing the ball great. Hopefully everybody is available and we can have our A-lineup out there. We’ve got a tough one tomorrow [against Imanaga]. He’s really good at what he does. But we’ve got to be ready. Friday night at Fenway. Make it fun.”

“We want to perform in front of our home fans,” said outfielder Tyler O’Neill. “Our best baseball is ahead of us. I’m looking forward to those crazy offensive games at home. It will be fun to see.”

Raffy getting hot
The first homestand wasn’t good for the top hitter in Boston’s lineup, third baseman Rafael Devers. The star slugger went 2-for-16 and only played five of the 10 games due to a left shoulder ailment and then a left knee injury.

If the last two days in Cleveland are any indication, Devers is not only feeling healthier, but he’s gotten back in a groove at the plate, going 6-for-9.

“He’s an anchor in our lineup,” said O’Neill. “We build everything around him. It’s been fun to see him barrel some balls up.”

While the knee injury isn’t something anyone wanted to happen, it might have been beneficial in giving his shoulder the ability to fully heal.

“I know we talked about the knee but I think the shoulder is where it’s supposed to be,” Cora said. “You’ve got to be patient with those guys. You have to be. Because at the end, when they’re healthy or close to 100 percent, that’s what they do.”

Rafaela stabilizes infield
The original plan was for Ceddanne Rafaela to try to win a Gold Glove in center field in his rookie season. But things have changed now that shortstop Trevor Story is lost for the season after left shoulder surgery.

Initially, the Sox tried having David Hamilton fill in at short, but that didn’t go well.

Cora made Rafaela the starting shortstop for all six games of the just-completed road trip, and things are going to stay that way for a while.

The entire infield has stabilized since Rafaela took over at short.

“It’s nothing strange or anything that surprises,” Rafaela said. “I’m just here to do my job and do whatever they say and whatever they feel is good for the team. I love both [positions]. I love playing defense. I enjoy playing shortstop too. I take pride when I go on the field and play defense.”