The Astros wasted no time getting to Early in the top of the first as Carlos Correa walked to start. Yordan Alvarez struck out swinging but Isaac Parades walked. Christian Walker got a base hit to left to score Correa but Jose Altuve grounded into a double play to end the inning with the Astros up 1-0.
Spencer Arrighetti got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jarren Duran flied out to center to start. Willson Contreras grounded out to third and Roman Anthony struck out swinging to end the inning.
Yainer Diaz struck out swinging to open the top of the second but Brice Matthews walked. Cam Smith flied out to center and Dustin Harris took strike three to end the inning. Wilyer Abreu got a base hit to right to start the bottom of the second but Trevor Story grounded into a double play. Marcelo Mayer struck out swinging to end the inning.
Correa flied out to left to start the top of the third and Alvarez popped up to short. Parades also popped up to short to end the inning. Rafaela got a base hit to right to start the bottom of the third then promptly stole second. Connor Wong grounded out to third but Caleb Durbin walked. Duran walked to load the bases and....Contreras grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The Astros iced the game in the top of the fourth as Walker got a base hit to left to start. Altuve doubled to center but Diaz grounded out to second. Matthews then hit a home run all the way into the Atlantic Ocean to ice the game. Smith doubled to center and moved to third on the Harris grounder to first. Correa singled to right to score Smith but Alvarez flied out to left to end the inning with the Astros up 5-0. That was it for Early who got shelled for 5 runs in just 4 innings.
Once again the Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the fourth as Anthony walked to start. Abreu walked but Story struck out swinging. Mayer grounded out to short to move the runners over but Rafaela struck out swinging to end the inning.
Ryan Watson came in to pitch the top of the fifth and Parades flied out to left to start. Walker then hit home run all the way to the Potomac River to increase the lead. Altuve struck out swinging and Diaz grounded out to short to end the inning with the Astros up 6-0.
The Sox rallied briefly in the bottom of the fifth as Wong got a base hit to left to start. Durbin popped up to second but Duran got a base hit to right to move Wong to third. Contreras hit what looked to be a 3 run home run but died at the left field wall, settling for a sac fly to score Wong. Anthony got a base hit to left to move Duran to third and Abreu walked to load the bases. Naturally Story popped up to first to end the inning with the Sox down 6-1.
Matthews struck out swinging to open the top of the sixth and Smith did the same. Harris got a base hit to right and immediately stole second. Correa struck out swinging to end the inning. Enyel De Los Santos came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Mayer lined out to right to start. Correa made a great diving catch to rob Rafaela of a base hit and Wong grounded out to third to end the inning.
Alvarez walked to start the top of the seventh and Parades doubled to left. Walker grounded out to short and then Altuve hit a grounder to second. Mayer fired home and Alvarez bowled over Narvaez, but he held on for the out. The Astros challenged that Narvaez illegally blocked the plate and the umpires upheld the call, then they challenged Narvaez never tagged him to begin with and also lost that challenge. Diaz grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox rallied again in the bottom of the seventh as Durbin flied out to right to start. Duran struck out swinging but Contreras got a base hit to left to chase De Los Santos. Bennett Sousa came in to pitch and promptly walked Anthony. Abreu got a abse hit to right to score Contreras and move Anthony to third. Story got a base hit to left to score Anthony but for some baffling reason, Sox manager Chad Tracy pinch hit Andruw Monasterio for Mayer, only for the Astros to bring in Kai-Wei Teng to face him. Tracy countered THAT by having Masataka Yoshida pinch hit for Monasterio. Yoshida did draw a walk to load the bases and Isiah Kiner-Falefa ran for him. With the tying run at the plate....Rafaela took strike three right down the middle to end the inning with the Sox down 6-3.
Tyler Samaniego came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Matthews caught Contreras asleep with a bunt single. Smith grounded into a double play but Harris got a base hit to left. Correa got a base hit to right but Alvarez grounded out to second to end the inning. Wong took strike three to start the bottom of the eighth and Durbin grounded out to third. Duran hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning.
Parades flied out to left to start the top of the ninth but Walker got hit in the head by a pitch. Walker had to leave the game and Braden Shewmake ran for him. It looked like Altuve hit into a double play and the Sox challenged that he was out at first, but replays showed Jose was safe. Diaz grounded out to third to end the inning. Bryan King came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Contreras flied out to center to start. Anthony grounded out to second and Abreu grounded out to third to end the game. The Astros had won the game 6-3.
Jackass of the Night is Connelly Early. He got tagged for 5 runs in just 4 innings to put the Sox in a hole they couldn't climb out of.
The Good:
Wilyer Abreu was 2 for 3 with 2 walks and an rbi.
Masataka Yoshida walked as a pinch hitter.
Tyler Samaniego tossed 2 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Marcelo Mayer was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Jarren Duran was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked.
Willson Contreras was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored a run.
Trevor Story was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Connor Wong was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked.
Caleb Durbin was 0 for 3 but walked.
Ryan Watson allowed a run in 3 innings of work.
Honorable Mention:
Andruw Monasterio "pinch hit" in the bottom of the seventh.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa played second base in the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
Not a great time to be a Boston sports fan. Mike Vrabel is under fire as New England Patriots coach, the Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins are both out of the first round and the Red Sox are in last place. The Sox absolutely cannot score more than 3 runs to save their lives. If their starting pitchers don't pitch like aces, they have no chance to win a game. The biggest problem are Duran, Story and Durbin being some of the worst players in all of baseball with Carlos Narvaez, Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony having sophomore slumps. When 6 out of your 9 players are almost automatic outs, you're not going to win many games. Hopefully Anthony, Narvaez, Durbin and Mayer can work out of it as second year players but Story and Duran are very concerning. Duran turns 30 in December and Story is already 33, this might be it for them. Early got tagged but once again, as a second year pitcher, he's going to go through some growing pains. He still has great stuff, the Astros just got to him today. Kudos to the bullpen to hold the Astros to just 1 run in 5 innings, too bad the Sox couldn't make the comeback. The loss dropped the Sox to 13-20, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox look to take the series tomorrow afternoon when Ranger Suarez goes for the Sox against Cody Bolton of Houston. The game begins at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park.
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