As for the game, that was a kick in the ass. For 7 innings the Red Sox had a 1-0 lead over the Houston Astros when the wheels fell off in the eighth inning. "Slick" Rick Porcello (3-4, 4.80 ERA) had tossed 7 shutout innings but Red Sox manager Alex Cora wanted to give the much maligned bullpen a rest and sent Rick out for the 8th. The move backfired as George Springer smashed a 2 run home run to give the Astros the lead. Houston got another run off Ryan Brasier and slammed the door in the 9th inning to stun the champs. The Astros had won their ninth straight game with a 3-1 at Fenway Park.
Porcello got the ball in the top of the first inning and Springer whiffed to start. Alex Bregman singled to center but Michael Brantley whiffed. Carlos Corra flied out to right to end the inning. The Sox did nothing against Houston starter Gerrit Cole in the bottom of the first inning as Andrew Benintendi whiffed to start. Mr. Mookie lined out to third but JD Martinez doubled to right. Mitch Moreland lined out to left to end the inning.
The Astros threatened in the top of the second inning although Josh Reddick flied out to center to begin. Yuli Gurriel and Aledmys Diaz hit back to back singles but Robinson Chirinos whiffed. A wild pitch moved the runners into scoring position but Jake Marisnick lined out to center to end the inning. Diaz had to leave the game and was replaced by Tony Kemp for the bottom of the second. Xander Bogaerts singled to center but Rafael Devers lined out to center. Michael Chavis whiffed but Christian Vazquez doubled Xander to third. Eduardo Nunez grounded out to second to end the inning, what a waste.
Porcello cruised in the top of the third inning as Springer grounded out to second to start. Bregman grounded out to third and Brantley flied out to center to end the inning. Cole got Benintendi to ground out to second to begin before Mr. Mookie lined out to center. Martinez walked before Moreland flied out to center to end the inning.
Correa flied out to left to start the top of the fourth inning before Reddick flied out to right. Gurriel popped up to second to end the inning. Bogaerts looked to start a rally in the bottom of the fourth with a double to left but both Devers and Chavis struck out swinging. Vazquez grounded out to second to end the inning.
Kemp grounded out to second to start the top of the fifth before Chirinos singled. Robinson moved to second on the grounder to the mound by Marisnick before Springer walked. Bregman grounded into a force to end the inning. Nunez whiffed to start the bottom of the fifth but Benintendi and Betts stroked back to back singles. Once again the Sox couldn't get a clutch hit as Martinez whiffed although Mookie swiped third. Moreland whiffed to end the inning.
Porcello cruised in the top of the sixth as Brantley flied out to right to begin. Correa grounded out to short and Reddick flied out to right to end the inning. Hector Rondon came in for the bottom of the sixth and the Sox took the lead. Bogaerts singled to start and swiped second on the Devers strike out. Chavis struck out swinging but Vazquez singled home Xander to put Boston on top. Nunez grounded into a force to end the inning but it was 1-0 Sox.
Porcello kept the lead in the top of the seventh as Gurriel grounded out to short to start. Kemp flied out to left and Chirinos popped up to second to end the inning. Porcello had tossed 7 innings of one run ball, too bad the Sox bullpen sucks.
Will Harris struck out Benintendi to start the bottom of the seventh before Mr. Mookie flied out to right. Martinez whiffed to end the inning.
Sox manager Alex Cora sent Porcello back out for the top of the eighth and naturally the Astros made him pay. Marisnick doubled to left and Springer bashed a 500,000 foot bomb to put Houston on top for good. That was it for Porcello who was the hard luck loser with 7 innings of 2 run ball. Ryan Brasier came in and the Sox puked on themselves. Bregman flied out to let but Brantley walked. A passed ball moved Brantley to second and a wild pitch moved him to third before Correa walked. Old pal Reddick hit a sac fly to score Brantley to ice the game. Gurriel popped up to first to end the inning with the Astros up 3-1.
The Sox went quietly in the bottom of the eighth against Ryan Pressly as Moreland whiffed again. Bogaerts flied out to left and Devers grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Heath Hembree came in to pitch the top of the ninth and dominated. Kemp looked at strike three before Chirinos and Marisnick both whiffed to end the inning. The Sox tried to rally against Houston closer Roberto Osuna although Chavis grounded out to third to start. Vazquez doubled to left and representing the tying run....Nunez grounded out to third. Benintendi walked to bring the winning run to the plate but Betts lined out to left to end the game. The Astros won their 9th straight game and the pitching duel over the Sox 3-1.
Jackass of the Night is Eduardo Nunez. He went 0 for 4 and left 4 men on base in a winnable game.
The Good:
JD Martinez was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Xander Bogaerts was 3 for 4 with a run scored and a stolen base.
Christian Vazquez was 3 for 4 with an rbi.
One of the rare time the losing pitcher ends up on the good list but Rick Porcello tossed 7 innings of 2 run ball, making the one mistake to Springer. He allowed just 6 total hits.
Heath Hembree struck out the side in the top of the ninth inning.
The Bad:
Mitch Moreland was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Michael Chavis was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Ryan Brasier allowed a run in the 7th inning.
The Ugly:
Andrew Benintendi was just 1 for 4 but walked.
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 5 but stole a base.
Final Thoughts:
Nothing is going right for the Sox this year. Porcello holds the Astros scoreless for 7 innings but two batters into the eighth and WHAM, game over. The Astros are damn good but the Sox are catching every bad luck break there is. It didn't help the Sox couldn't get a clutch hit the entire game, e?especially when Cole was done after 5. As bad as this season has gone, it can't get any worse...can it? The loss dropped the Sox to 23-21, 4.5 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox look for revenge when they send Hector Velazquez (1-2) to the mound up against Corbin Martin at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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