None of that mattered once the game actually got going. The Red Sox scratched across single runs in the 1st and 3rd, the Dodgers answered with 2 in the bottom of the 2nd, and from there both bullpens just locked the door for six-plus innings.
Los Angeles racked up 10 hits and still only crossed the plate twice — that's the whole story of the loss. The Dodgers stranded runner after runner against a Boston bullpen that kept finding outs when it needed them, and the Red Sox tacked on one more run in the 8th to break a 2-2 tie and shut the door, 3-2.
Both bullpens are running on fumes right now. Boston is already without Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Johan Oviedo and Kutter Crawford, all rehabbing arm injuries, while the Dodgers just placed Will Klein on the 15-day IL for elbow discomfort and are also missing Brock Stewart, Blake Treinen, Ben Casparius and Jake Cousins. Neither pen has much margin for error at the moment, and it showed in a game that came down to the last few outs.
Boston, at 58-51, is still chasing a much better Dodgers team sitting at 69-41, but taking the first 2 games of this series says the gap on the field isn't nearly as wide as the standings suggest. LA gets one more shot to salvage the set before the Red Sox head out of town.