Road Trip Starts With a Dud

The Red Sox offense could never get untracked against Cincinnati Reds right-hander Aaron Harang Friday night as the Sox dropped another road game in the Interleague opener.

The futility on the road has officially become a major concern as Boston is now 14-21 away from Fenway, the worst road record in the division.

It's hard to understand because this team is so well-rounded and is able to play different styles depending on the circumstances of the game, so being in a different ballpark shouldn't affect them. With two more games in Cincinnati followed by three in Philadelphia the Sox will be lucky to split the road trip.

BOX SCORE: Red 3, Red Sox 1

The lack of offense spoiled another solid outing from Justin Masterson. This kid has been huge for the staff. He gave up a couple of solo homers, but pitched well enough for the win.

Manny Ramirez provided the Sox with their only run with a single off the wall in the 4th inning that scored Jacoby Ellsbury who had doubled earlier, but the offense managed just three other hits besides those two.

Manny's hit tied it 1-1, but Masterson gave the lead right back to the Reds allowing two runs in the bottom of the inning. It's always a key for a pitcher to shut down the opposing team's offense after your team scores, but he couldn't do it.

The Cincinnati crowd gave Sean Casey a standing ovation during his first at-bat. Casey broke in with the Reds and played seven seasons with them. They have some classy fans there in the Queen city.

Kevin Youkilis should be back in the lineup tomorrow. It's a huge series for him as well. Youk grew up a Reds fan in Cincinnati and will have many friends and family at the game.