Against Sunday morning’s raw, gray backdrop at Fenway Park, a member of the Red Sox tried to conjure optimism.
“It’s still early!” he said. “Still [129] games. That’s a lot!”
But already, a reminder of the number of remaining games on the Red Sox schedule is starting to feel as much like a threat as a promise.
On Sunday afternoon, lefthander Ranger Suarez felt a twinge in his right hamstring on the final pitch of a fourth inning of shutout work against the Astros. Amidst another brilliant start, he had to make a premature exit due to what the Sox described as right hamstring tightness, in a game the Sox eventually lost, 3-1, in 10 innings.
The departure of Suarez added to the afternoon pall, another sign of a team whose early season blueprint continues to get crumpled. The Sox entered 2026 identifying run prevention as the foundation of postseason and title aspirations. Instead, they’ve encountered the poisonous concoction of injuries mixed with performance struggles.
Read more from Alex Speier at BostonGlobe.com/Sports. | 
