So, what red flag should be raised the highest after last night’s Red Sox loss in Oakland?

The team dropped to 5-11 after A’s starter Brett Anderson showed the Sox what’s what in leading Oakland to a 5-0 win over the visitors. But the standings will once again offer a reminder regarding the youth of the season, with the Red Sox still sitting just 4 ½ games out of first-place in the American League East.

Deciphering what paths have gotten the Sox to this point should be the priority.

Coming off the most recent loss and heading into Wednesday’s series finale, the three question marks that jump off the page are: 1. Was the concern regarding how the Red Sox would do against left-handers warranted? 2. Will they ever win a game on the road, having now dropped to 0-7? 3. What should we make of a lineup that has changed 14 times already this season?

ARE THINGS ALRIGHT AGAINST LEFTIES?

The Red Sox have the second-most plate appearances in the majors this season against left-handed pitching, with all of their at-bats Tuesday night coming against southpaws. The reality is that the Sox haven’t been totally horrific against lefties, hitting .241 (20th) with a .720 OPS (16th).

It would be easy to look at the performance against Anderson and suggest that the Red Sox’ concern against lefties should be resurfaced. But upon closer examination, not only is the Oakland starter worse against left-handed hitting this season (.333 batting average), but four of the five hits the Sox managed were by their left-handed hitters.

The Red Sox – who are also seeing slightly more pitches per plate appearance against left-handers (4.04) than they are vs. righties (3.97) – have actually had some encouraging signs from select individuals.

Jed Lowrie leads all Red Sox batters with a .476 batting average against left-handers, but two of the top four hitters on the team were the biggest concern coming into the game. David Ortiz is hitting .364, while (albeit a small sample size of 12 at-bats) has a .333 average against lefties.

But there have been problems in regard to the Red Sox’ arsenal against left-handers. A few of the lefty hitters who were slated to hit against virtually every kind of pitcher -- Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, and Jacoby Ellsbury -- have had some issues against southpaws. Gonzalez is the best of the group at .214, with Crawford standing at .154 and Ellsbury just 2-for-16 (.125). None of them have an extra-base hit against a left-hander.

The back-up plans against lefties – Darnell McDonald and Mike Cameron – haven’t offered much yet in the way of a lock-solid solution, going a combined 4-for-26. Oh, and by the way, the catchers (Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jason Varitek) have teamed up to go 1-for-23 against left-handers, although Saltalamacchia did manage his first hit from the right side in his final at-bat Tuesday night.

HAS THE ROAD SLUMP RETURNED?

After the 2009 season, Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein identified the ability to hit on the road as one of the areas he hoped to improve on heading into last season. The team wasn’t awful, residing in the middle of the pack when it came to road batting average (.257), but the Sox had finished under .500 away from Fenway Park (39-42).

Mission accomplished. The Red Sox finished second in the majors in runs per game on the road (4.93), while also pitching decently, managing the 11th best road ERA in the big leagues (4.14). The result was a 43-38 mark away from home, just two wins shy of their World Series-winning season in ’07.

But so far this season, albeit just seven games in, things aren’t trending well.

The Red Sox are winless on the road having scored the fewest runs per game in the majors (2.29), while carrying the highest team ERA (6.91). They are also last in road batting average (.179) and OPS (.522).

The Sox have managed just six runs over their last six road games, and four times they have scored one run or been shutout after experiencing that kind of offensive ineptness a total of seven times in 2010.

The culprits? Well, basically everybody but Adrian Gonzalez, who is hitting .333 on the road. After him, it’s bleak.

Take your pick – Ortiz (.240), Drew (.231), Dustin Pedroia (.208), Crawford (.192), Marco Scutaro (.176), Ellsbury (.160), Saltalamacchia (.118), Lowrie (.091), Kevin Youkilis (.087), and Cameron, McDonald and Varitek combining to go 0-for-15. 

"We'll be all right," Pedroia said. "We might be the first team to lose our first seven on the road and win the next seven, who knows."

Maybe he’s right. But while it hasn’t been a long stretch, but it also hasn’t been good one, either.

WHAT TO MAKE OF THE LINEUP

Let’s start at the top.

Lowrie got the leadoff nod for the second time this season Tuesday night. He took just his third O-fer for the season (when starting), but it would still be hard to argue hitting the shortstop in the top spot. Other than J.D. Drew’s one-time appearance as the Sox’ leadoff man, going 2-for-4, the area has been a problem.

The Red Sox’ leadoff spot is 27th in batting average (.174), 28th in OBP (28th), and has only accounted for eight runs this season.

While Red Sox manager Terry Francona has reiterated that on-base percentage is the priority in the position over speed, he has gotten neither from Plan A or Plan B (Ellsbury and Crawford). One of the two has been the Sox’ leadoff hitter in 13 of their 17 games, getting on base in 10 of their combined 60 plate appearances (.167 OBP). The Red Sox’ leadoff spot also has just one stolen base all season.

So, what are some of the other problem areas in the lineup for the Sox? Somewhat surprisingly, the insertion of Gonzalez in the No. 3 hole hasn’t totally turned around that slot’s fortunes, with the Sox’ third hitters combining for the second-worst OPS in the majors (.594).

Despite Youkilis’ below-average batting average, he has managed to hold the fort in the cleanup spot to a certain extent, with the Red Sox’ No. 4 hitters totaling the eighth-best OPS (.982) in the bigs.

The bottom three spots in the order, however, have been an issue. In the seventh and eighth positions in the lineup, the Red Sox carry an identical .618 OPS, both 21st-best in the majors. 

And the proposed dynamic of having a legitimate leadoff hitter manning the No. 9 spot hasn’t really panned out, either. The last hitter in the Red Sox’ batting order has hit .157 with a .271 OBP.

They are all issues that could turn around in a hurry. Understood. But if Tuesday night did anything, it offered a reminder that some concerns regarding the Red Sox haven’t left the building.