If you were looking for some sign that April was a blip on the radar--that the Red Sox were going to turn it around and get back to winning--look elsewhere.
The Red Sox dropped the last game of the series to the Orioles today, 3-2 in extra innings, giving the Orioles (who had entered the series with a 4-18 record) the 3-game sweep.
In the first game, the culprit was the relief pitching, as Daniel Bard and Ramon Ramirez both gave up runs in the 8th and 10th innings respectively. In the second game, it was starter Daisuke Matsuzaka falling apart in the 5th, and Tim Wakefield doing no better in the 6th and 7th. Today, it was the offense's inability to turn 12 baserunners into more than 2 runs. As has been the case with the Red Sox this year, something is always wrong.
Though it was mostly the offense's fault, certain failures--very much characteristic of those that have failed the team so far this year--cannot go ignored. In today's game, it was a boneheaded play by Beltre with the bases loaded, allowing a run (and eventually 2 in the inning) to score instead of trying for a double play, or catching the runner at home. Also to blame is Tim Bogar, who made an inexplicable decision to try to score Jason Varitek from second on a Dustin Pedroia single when the left fielder had the ball before he even reached third base.
The Sox are back down to 3 under .500, and are digging themselves a big hole to fight out of if they want to compete in the AL East.