The Red Sox had no trouble getting men on base. Boston’s lineup combined for eight hits, six walks and got runners into scoring position in six out of nine innings.

Yet when it came time to get the big hit, the Red Sox collectively couldn’t come through.

Boston went 1 for 14 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13 men on base in Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves, a frustrating performance against one of the best teams in Major League Baseball. The Red Sox also wasted a gem by starting pitcher Kutter Crawford, who held his own against one of the deepest and most relentless lineups in baseball.

Crawford allowed just two runs over six innings, striking out six while walking two and allowing five hits. The right-hander’s ERA for the season is now 1.75, and Crawford has posted a quality start in five of his eight outings, including each of the last four.

The one blemish on Crawford’s line was a two-run home run by Jarred Kelenic, which was his first of the season and put the Braves up 2-0 in the third. The Red Sox had no shortage of baserunners, but the offense wasn’t able to answer until the bottom of the sixth, when Braves starter Reynaldo Lopez abruptly lost his command.

Boston drew three walks in the inning, including one with the bases loaded by Reese McGuire to cut the deficit to one. That marked the end of Lopez’s night, and Ceddanne Rafaela welcomed reliever Aaron Bummer by bouncing a soft chopper right off the back of his left. Had the ball been fielded cleanly it could have been an inning-ending double play, but instead it wound up in no-man’s land and Vaughn Grissom came in to tie the game.

That was the only hit the Red Sox could muster with men in scoring position all game, and beyond that the team couldn’t capitalize any further.

Jarren Duran and Rafael Devers struck out with the bases loaded to end the threat, and from there the lineup kept wasting opportunities. The Red Sox caught a particularly unlucky break in the eighth, when Tyler O’Neill laced what looked like a two-run double into left field, only for former Red Sox outfielder Adam Duvall to race in and make an incredible sliding catch to end the inning.

The Braves, meanwhile, didn’t get nearly as much traffic but capitalized on their big opportunity in the bottom of the eighth. After Justin Slaten allowed a leadoff walk to Ozzie Albies, the Braves retook the lead on a Marcell Ozuna RBI single and added another run-scoring fielder’s choice by Orlando Arcia, which could have been an inning-ending double play but instead made it 4-2 Atlanta.

That wound up being all the offense the Braves needed.

Jarren Duran continued his historic start in the loss, going 2 for 5 with a double and a triple. He now has six triples, eight doubles and nine stolen bases on the season, and the only other player in franchise history with six-plus triples and nine-plus stolen bases through 36 games is Hall of Famer Tris Speaker all the way back in 1913.

Grissom went 1 for 4 with a run scored in his return to Atlanta, and Wilyer Abreu drew two walks and scored a run.

With the loss the Red Sox fall to 19-17 on the season. They’ll look to salvage a two-game split Wednesday, with first pitch scheduled for 7:20 p.m.

Bello nearing return

Brayan Bello’s rehab start in Portland didn’t go perfectly. He allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits with two walks and a home run, but he also struck out five and, more importantly, pitched pain-free in what was likely his last tune-up before returning to the big league rotation.

Following the outing, Bello told reporters his next start will be Sunday at Fenway Park against the Nationals, according to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe.

Bello has been out since April 19 with right lat tightness, and with his return the Red Sox rotation appears to be rapidly returning to full strength. Nick Pivetta (right elbow flexor strain) is scheduled to be activated on Wednesday and will face off against former teammate Chris Sale in the series finale, and Alex Cora told reporters that Garrett Whitlock (left oblique strain) threw a two-inning bullpen session prior to Tuesday’s game and will throw live batting practice on Friday at Fenway Park.

Barring any setbacks Whitlock should make a rehab start next week, which would put him on schedule to return during the upcoming road series against the Tampa Bay Rays between May 20-22.

Zeferjahn promoted to WooSox

After enjoying perhaps the best start of any Red Sox minor leaguer this season, Ryan Zeferjahn was called up to Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday, putting the hard throwing righty one step away from the majors.

Zeferjahn, a 26-year-old originally selected in the third round of the 2019 MLB Draft, had not yet allowed an earned run through his first seven appearances with the Portland Sea Dogs this season, posting a perfect 0.00 ERA over 13.2 innings while striking out 22 and walking only three. His fastball has gotten up to 101 mph this spring and Red Sox evaluators have said his command and consistency have taken huge strides.

To make room on the WooSox roster, left-hander Brendan Cellucci was sent down to Portland. In addition, infielder Pablo Reyes and right-hander Vladimir Gutierrez, both of whom were designated for assignment by the Red Sox in the past week, each cleared waivers and will remain with the organization after being outrighted to Worcester.