CLEVELAND — Instant reactions from the Red Sox’ 5-4 loss to the Guardians in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader at Progressive Field:

1) The offense gave starter Tanner Houck a 3-0 lead in the first inning. But Houck gave it away immediately, allowing three runs on five hits (two doubles, three singles) in the bottom half. He kept the Guardians scoreless over the next four innings. He allowed four runs, eight hits and one walk while striking out six in five innings.

Houck has a 7.58 ERA (29 ⅔ innings, 25 earned runs) in six starts.

2) The inconsistent Red Sox have lost three straight games to return to .500 (14-14). Cleveland improved to 15-10. Boston threatened in the ninth as Ceddanne Rafaela singled and Jarren Duran walked to lead it off. But Rafael Devers lined out to left field, Alex Bregman flied out to right field and Trevor Story struck out swinging.

3) Brennan Bernardino replaced Houck with the game tied 4-4 entering the bottom of the sixth inning. The lefty hit the leadoff batter, Will Wilson. Angel Martínez followed with an infield single that deflected off Bernardino. A sac bunt put both runners into scoring position. The Red Sox played the infield in against Steven Kwan whose 143-foot flare (just 55.1 mph off the bat) went just out of the reach of Trevor Story into left field. It scored Wilson to make it 5-4.

4) Rafael Devers’ hardest hit ball of the season tied the game 4-4 in the third inning. His 381-foot home run to right field left his bat at 110.9 mph. He also walked in his first at-bat.

His previous top exit velocity this season was a 110.4 mph double in the fourth inning April 9 against Blue Jays’ Kevin Gausman.

Devers entered Saturday just 4-for-44 (.091) with a .281 on-base percentage and .205 slugging percentage in his previous 13 games.

5) Wilyer Abreu was just 9-for-56 (.161) with a .266 on-base percentage, .268 slugging percentage, one homer, three doubles, eight walks and 20 strikeouts in his previous 16 games entering Saturday.

But he put the Red Sox ahead 3-0 in the first inning with a 390-foot three-run home run to right field.

Alex Cora on Friday called the slump “nothing.”

“Putting (up) good at-bats and swinging the bat well without getting results,” Cora said. “But I think he’s in a good spot. Obviously teams are going to make adjustments and we have to keep making adjustments but he’s in a great place.”

6) It marked Alex Cora’s 1000th game as Red Sox manager. He joined Joe Cronin (2,007), Terry Francona (1,296), Pinky Higgins (1,119) and Bill Carrigan (1,003) as the only five managers to reach that franchise milestone.

7) Game 2 of the doubleheader is scheduled to start at 6:10 p.m. Red Sox righty Walker Buehler (3-1, 4.23 ERA) will start opposite Guardians pitching prospect Doug Nikhazy, a lefty who will be making his MLB debut.