Suarez got the ball in the top of the first inning and Carlos Correa grounded out to second to start. Yordan Alvarez struck out swinging but Isaac Parades doubled to center. Christian Walker struck out swinging to end the inning. Bolton got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jarren Duran got a base hit to right to start. Willson Contreras took strike three and Roman Anthony beat out a double play ball. Wilyer Abreu walked and naturally with a man on second, Andruw Monasterio struck out swinging to end the inning.
Jose Altuve lined out to center to start the top of the second and Brice Matthews flied out to right. Cam Smith got a base hit to left and Christian Vazquez flied out to center to end the inning. Marcelo Mayer took strike three to start the bottom of the second and Ceddanne Rafaela was retired on a squibber in front of the plate. Carlos Narvaez doubled to center but Caleb Durbin hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning.
Dustin Harris' bunt attempt was snuffed out by Narvaez to start the top of the third and Correa lined out to center. Alvarez got a base hit to right and Paredes struck out swinging to end the inning. Duran grounded out to first to start the bottom of the third but Contreras got a base hit to left. Anthony doubled to center and that was it for Bolton. AJ Blubaugh came in to face Abreu and struck him out swinging. Monasterio tried a suicide squeeze bunt but Paredes threw him out at first to end the inning.
Walker walked to start the top of the fourth before Altuve flied out to left. Matthews grounded out to short to move Walker to second but Smith lined out to short to end the inning. All of a sudden Suarez started clutching his hamstring and had to leave the game after four shutout innings. Its been that kind of year.
Mayer flied out to right to start the bottom of the fourth and Rafaela took strike three. Narvaez struck out swinging to end the inning.
Tyler Samaniego came in to pitch the top of the fifth as Vazquez got a base hit to right to start. Harris dropped down a bunt to move Christian to second and Correa walked. Alvarez lined out to center to chase Tyler. Greg Weissert got Paredes to line out to center to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the fifth as Durbin popped up to first to start. Suddenly Duran bashed his third home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Contreras walked but Anthony flied out to center. Contreras stole second but Abreu struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
The Astros answered in the top of the sixth as Walker got a base hit in the hole at short to start. Altuve doubled to left and Matthews hit a sac fly to score Walker....and somehow Altuve was thrown out at third trying to advance as well. Smith got a base hit to center but Vazquez struck out swinging to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Matthews ties it
Monasterio walked to start the bottom of the sixth but was thrown out at second trying to steal. Mayer got a base hit to left and Rafaela got plunked, but Narvaez struck out swinging. Durbin popped up to second to end the inning.
Jovani Moran came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Shay Whitcomb pinch hit for Harris. Whitcomb took strike three but Correa walked. Alvarez flied out to center and that was it for Moran. Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to face Paredes and Isaac struck out swinging to end the inning. Daniel Johnson came in for Whitcomb with Steven Okert on to pitch the bottom of the seventh. Duran flied out to center to start but Contreras doubled to left. Anthony lined out to right to move Willson to third but Abreu struck out swinging to end the inning.
Walker got a base hit in the hole at second to start the top of the eighth and Braden Shewmake came in to run for him. Altuve dropped down a sacrifice bunt but Matthews flied out to right. Smith struck out swinging to end the inning. Enyel De Los Santos came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Masataka Yoshida pinch hit for Andruw Monasterio. Yoshida got a base hit to left and Isiah Kiner-Falefa ran for him. Mayer struck out swinging, Rafaela flied out to center and Narvaez lined out to third to end the inning.
Aroldis Chapman came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Vazquez got a base hit to center to start. Yainer Diaz ran for him but Johnson's bunt forced Diaz at second. Correa took strike three and Alvarez struck out swinging to end the inning. The much maligned Bryan Abreu came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Durbin grounded out to second to start. Duran struck out swinging and Abreu threw a grounder by Contreras away for an error, allowing Willson to reach second. With the winning run on second....Anthony grounded out to first to end the inning.
Zack Kelly came in to pitch the top of the tenth with Alvarez starting at second. Paredes walked and Shewmake dropped down a bunt to move the runners over but ended up reaching first to load the bases. Altuve hit into a 6-2-5 double play but Matthews walked to re-load the bases. Smith drilled a base hit to right to score all three runners....but wait! Matthews was called out at the plate and the Astros challenged, but the call upheld. Still, the Astros now led 3-1.
Smith puts the Astros on top
All the Sox had to do was score off one of the worst pitchers in baseball with Anthony starting at second to start the bottom of the tenth. Abreu walked and Kiner dropped down a bunt to move the runners into scoring position. Mayer was hit with a pitch to load the bases and naturally Rafaela grounded into a double play to end the game. The Astros had won 3-1 in 10 innings.
Astros win
Jackass Kelly
Jackass of The Night is Zack Kelly. He allowed 2 walks, 2 runs and a hit in the top of the tenth to take the loss.
The Good:
Jarren Duran was 2 for 5 with a home run.
Willson Contreras was 3 for 4 with a walk and a stolen base.
Masataka Yoshida was 1 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Ranger Suarez tossed 4 scoreless innings before leaving with injury.
Jovani Moran got the first two outs of the seventh inning.
Garrett Whitlock tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Caleb Durbin was 0 for 4.
The Ugly:
Roman Anthony was just 1 for 5.
Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but walked twice.
Andruw Monasterio was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but walked.
Carlos Narvaez was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but was hit with a pitch.
Marcelo Mayer was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but was hit with a pitch.
Greg Weissert allowed a run in 2 innings of work.
Honorable Mention:
Isiah Kiner-Falefa ran for Yoshida in the ninth inning.
Final Thoughts:
Well, looks like the problem wasn't Alex Cora and the coaching staff after all. Its only been a few weeks since they fired Cora and the coaches and the same offensive woes remain. The Astros are just as bad as the Sox and Boston made their pitchers look like the 1970 Orioles in this one. Some of the worst pitchers in baseball damn near pitched a shutout and Bryan Abreu tossing 2 scoreless innings is absolutely inexcusable. Worse yet, Ranger Suarez is hurt and the Sox can't afford to lose him with Garrett Crochet already out. The bottom line is this is one of the worst offensive teams in Sox history due to injuries and ineffectiveness and unless the veterans turn it around, this season will be over in a hurry. Then again, the sooner Sox GM Craig Breslow is gone the better it seems like. The loss dropped the Sox to 13-21, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox now travel to Detroit for a three game set with the Tigers. Payton Tolle (0-1) takes on Tyler Holton of Detroit. The game begins at 7:10 PM eastern time at Comerica Park.
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