As for the game, for the second straight night the gruesome Boston Red Sox amounted almost nothing against the defending AL Champion Houston Astros. The Sox had just 5 total hits and just 4 against Houston starter Cristian Javier. Luckily the returning Rafael Devers and rookie starter Kutter Crawford (3-3, 3.86 ERA) saved the day. Crawford allowed a first inning run but shut down Houston in six solid innings. Rafael Devers drove home new addition Tommy Pham in the fourth inning and smashed a towering home run in the sixth. Hiro Sawamura, Austin Davis and Tanner Houck preserved the win. Houck managed to retire former Orioles nemesis Trey Mancini and former teammate Christian Vazquez in the ninth. The offense is still a mess but the pitching held up for the second night in a row as the Sox had won it 2-1 at Minute Maid Park.
Javier got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jarren Duran struck out swinging to start. Tommy Pham made his Sox debut and naturally struck out swinging before Rafael Devers also went down hacking to end the inning. The Astros wasted no time getting to Crawford in the bottom of the first as Jose Altuve effortlessly doubled to left on the first pitch to start. Yulu Gurriel ripped a base hit to center to put the Astros up two batters into the game. Yordan Alvarez flied out to left and Gurriel stole second on the Alex Bregman swinging strikeout. Kyle Tucker walked but Aledmys Diaz forced Tucker at second to end the inning with the Astros up 1-0.
JD Martinez popped up to short to start the top of the second before Alex Verdugo went down hacking. Christian Arroyo flied out to right to end the inning. Jeremy Pena got a single up the middle to start the bottom of the second but was thrown out trying to steal. Jake Meyers lined out to short and Martin Maldonado struck out swinging to end the inning.
Bobby Dalbec walked to start the top of the third but Yolmer Sanchez lined out to center and Kevin Plawecki grounded into a double play to end the inning. Altuve flied out to left to start the bottom of the third and Gurriel grounded out to short. Alvarez struck out looking to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the top of the fourth although Duran grounded out to second to start. Pham got a base hit to center and scored on the double to right by Devers to tie the game. Martinez struck out swinging and Verdugo grounded out to short to end the inning but the game was tied 1-1.
The Astros threatened in the bottom of the fourth although Bregman grounded out to short to start. Tucker struck out swinging but Diaz best out a roller to third. Diaz took third on the base hit to right by Pena but Meyers grounded out to short to end the inning.
Arroyo popped up to first to start the top of the fifth but somehow Dalbec got a base hit to right. Naturally Sanchez flied out to center and Plawecki took strike three to end the inning. Maldonado grounded out to third to begin the bottom of the fifth before Altuve froze for strike three. Gurriel singled to center but Alvarez struck out swinging on a nasty changeup to end the inning.
The Sox took the lead in the top of the sixth as Duran grounded out to first to start. Pham popped up to third but Devers launched his 23rd home run of the season to put Boston on top. Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-1.
Naturally the Astros responded in the bottom of the sixth as Bregman beat out a roller to third to start. Tucker forced him at second and Diaz forced Kyle at second as well. Pena flied out to center to end the inning and that was it for Crawford. He was outstanding, holding the Astros to a first inning run and 7 hits in 6 solid innings.
Bryan Abreu came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Verdugo struck out swinging to start. Somehow Arroyo got a base hit to center but Sanchez grounded out to second to end the inning. Hiro Sawamura came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Meyers grounded out to third to start. Maldonado struck out swinging but Altuve got a base hit to center. Gurriel popped up to short to end the inning.
Hector Neris came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Plawecki struck out swinging to start. Duran grounded out to second and Pham struck out swinging to end the inning. Austin Davis came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and naturally Alvarez doubled to left to start. Bregman walked but shockingly Tucker struck out swinging. Sox manager Alex Cora brought in Tanner Houck for the 5 out save and Diaz lined out to left. Pena flied out to center to end the inning.
Rafael Montero came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Devers grounded out to short to start. Martinez struck out swinging and Verdugo lined out to right to end the inning. Just like last night with Duran, the Sox would have been shutout if it wasn't for Devers. The Astros had a nasty surprise in the bottom of the ninth as newly acquired Trey Mancini pinch hit for Meyers with Jackie Bradley Jr in for Pham in right to start. Mancini grounded out to third and none other than Christian Vazquez pinch hit for Maldonado. Vazquez grounded out to second and Altuve flied out to center to end the game. The Sox had won it 2-1.
Sox win
Hero of the Night is Rafael Devers. He drove in the only Sox runs including the go-ahead home run in the sixth inning.
The Good:
Christian Arroyo was 1 for 3.
Bobby Dalbec was 1 for 2 with a walk.
Kutter Crawford got the win by allowing just 7 hits and a run in 6 solid innings. He walked just one and struck out six batters.
Hiro Sawamura pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Austin Davis got the first out of the eighth inning.
Tanner Houck earned his eighth save with 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Jarren Duran was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
JD Martinez was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Alex Verdugo was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Yolmer Sanchez was 0 for 3.
Kevin Plawecki was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
Tommy Pham was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Honorable Mention:
Jackie Bradley Jr played right field in the bottom of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
The offense is still atrocious but the pitching held up for the second night in a row. Crawford pitched a hell of a game and Houck navigated through a tough situation with pinch hitters in the ninth. The offense right now is pray Xander Bogaerts or Devers does something because the entire team is back to where they were in April. Eric Hosmer, Reese McGuire and Pham aren't going to help the team THAT much. They'll average 4 runs a game instead of 2, yippie.....The good news is the three headed attack of Garrett Whitlock, John Schreiber and Tanner Houck has finally settled down the later innings and it would be nice if Josh Taylor or Matt Strahm got healthy to give them a lefty to help. Losing Vazquez sucks and Jay Groome was just starting to come back, but to give them up for four prospects, Pham and Hosmer could be a blessing in disguise if one of the prospects develops. The Sox have also won their first series since they beat the Guardians over a month ago. In terms of the trade deadline the Sox essentially did nothing one way or the other. They didn't trade a lot of prospects to add pieces and they didn't trade all their best guys to rebuild either. The subtraction of Christian Vazquez and addition of Eric Hosmer balanced each other out. Where they go from here depends entirely on the rotation now. If Chris Sale, James Paxton and Michael Wacha are pretty much finished then forget it. The Sox won't be able to survive throwing three rookies out there week after week. The Sox are still in last place in the division but they inched closer to the Tampa Bay Rays who lost to the Toronto Blue Jays tonight. Essentially the Sox are a healthy rotation away from competing for the wild card and time will tell if they can hang on. The win improved the Sox to 53-52, 2 games behind the Rays for the third wild card. The Sox look for the series sweep tomorrow afternoon when Brayan Bello (0-3, 8,82 ERA) looks for his first ML win against Jose Urquidy of Houston. The game begins at 2:10 PM Eastern time at Minute Maid Park.
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