BALTIMORE — Although it’s only early April, Major League Baseball is already deep into its Panic Season, a time when struggling stars and underperforming teams trigger alarms despite the minuscule sample sizes. While players, fans, and managers are typically trained not to overemphasize the season’s start, Rafael Devers’ catastrophic beginning to 2025 stands out both statistically and contextually.

On Monday afternoon, as the Baltimore Orioles celebrated their home opener with their signature orange carpet, the revamped Boston Red Sox, led by Devers, sought to establish the individual and team harmony that had escaped them in their three losses out of four games against Texas. Yet, by the end of nine innings, the Red Sox suffered another loss, and Devers found himself sinking further into an unprecedented slump.

He struck out three more times on Monday, making him 0-for-19 for the season so far, with 15 strikeouts. No player in MLB history has struck out as frequently in the first five games of a season as Devers, who broke the record held by Ian Happ of the Chicago Cubs (14 strikeouts in five games in 2018). At least Happ had managed a hit; Devers surpassed both Happ and former Houston Astros player Evan Gattis, who in 2017 set the previous record of 12 strikeouts in a five-game hitless start to a season.

Devers’ struggles come on the heels of a shift to designated hitter following the Red Sox’s February signing of Alex Bregman to take over third base. This move posed a challenge to Devers’ pride, given that the Red Sox had extended his contract by $313.5 million, not just to bat a few times each game. By the end of spring training, Devers had accepted his new role and resumed his place in Boston’s formidable lineup.

Yet, he continued to miss. He fanned 12 times in four games against the Texas Rangers, contributing to an 0-for-16 start where the Red Sox lost three games. Monday, in a stadium he has historically dominated (13 homers, an .868 OPS over 55 games), there was hope for change.

However, Baltimore’s No. 5 starter, Cade Povich, walked him in the first inning before striking him out in the second. Then, he was caught looking at a sinker on the outside corner in the fifth, and lefty reliever Keegan Akin got him to chase a changeup in the seventh.

Devers did manage walks in the first and ninth innings, with the latter offering some optimism to Red Sox manager Alex Cora, simply because Devers hit an encouraging foul ball down the left field line against Orioles closer Felix Bautista. Yes, it’s reached a point where they’re finding hope in a potentially telling foul ball.