All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 5-3 loss to the Astros, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Sox can't take advantage: Right down to the final at-bat, the Red Sox had opportunities Saturday. Down by two, the Red Sox had baserunners at first and third, and the best RBI man in the game, J.D. Martinez at the plate. But Martinez hit into a game-ending double play, which is perfectly symbolic of how things have gone for the Red Sox in this series. They were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position in their loss on Friday night, and Saturday afternoon the numbers weren't much better: 3-for-13. The Sox stranded two in the second, two more in the third and three in the fifth before the ninth-inning fail. "It felt like we had traffic in both games and we haven't been able to cash in,'' said Alex Cora. "They made some pitches, so you have to give them credit. But at the same time, we had our chances. We've been on base all the time and we're putting good at-bats together, but we haven't gotten that big hit.'' The Sox have two homers in the series so far -- both from Xander Bogaerts -- but tellingly, they've come with the bases empty.
Rodriguez steps back: Starter Eduardo Rodriguez was brilliant in his first outing coming off the disabled list last week in Chicago, fanning 12 and allowing a single run on just three hits. But Rodriguez regressed Saturday, allowing all five runs the Astros scored and failing to get out of the fourth inning. For the lefty, there wasn't much mystery as to what the problem was. "Most of my pitches were around the middle of the plate,'' he conceded, "and you saw the result.'' It didn't start out that way. Rodriguez picked up two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 first inning, but after fanning Carlos Correa to start the second, the Astros teed off with three hits, a walk and a sacrifice fly. It was more of the same in the third and fourth, and Rodriguez's afternoon was over before you knew it, done after 78 pitches. "No matter what team you face, you've got to throw the ball right where you want it,'' he said. "If you miss on the plate, this is the big leagues, that's what's going to happen. I was missing with my fastball, my changeup ... everything.''
Bullpen shows improvement: Since the Red Sox were behind by the second inning and never led after the first, they were never in a high-leverage situation. But at least the trio of Brandon Workman, Bobby Poyner and Tyler Thornburg kept the game within reach. Workman allowed an inherited runner to score in relief of Rodriguez, but then kept them off the board through the fifth. Poyner followed with two scoreless frames of his own and so did Thornburg. Poyner's outing was particularly eye-opening -- he allowed just one hit and posted a career-high three strikeouts. "I felt the matchup was good,'' said Cora of the lefty's outing. "(The Astros) are very aggressive in the strike zone and although his fastball is 88-89 mph, it plays harder. His combination of pitches is a good one and they haven't seen him (before), either.''
TURNING POINT
Trailing 5-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Red Sox loaded the bases with two outs against Houston starter Charlie Morton. That brought Andrew Benintendi to the plate. Benintendi has been going the other way during the series and did so again with a line drive to left-center. But Astros center fielder Jake Marisnick sprinted over and made a fine catch in front of The Wall for the final out, stranding three.
TWO UP
Xander Bogaerts: Bogaerts, who homered Friday night, hit his second homer in as many days and added two other hits. He also tied his career-best in homers with his 21st this season.
Mookie Betts: Betts has been doing his job by getting on base (eight times in 10 plate appearances). In fact, he's reached base in his last 20 regular season games against Houston.
ONE DOWN
Rafael Devers: Getting his first start in some time, he was hitless in four at-bats and also committed an error at third with a wild throw to second.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"We were close. We had, obviously, one of our best players at the plate and he didn't come through, but nine out of 10 times he will.''
β Bogaerts on J.D. Martinez, who represented the potential winning run at the plate in the ninth but ended the game by hitting into a double play.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Betts became the second player in Red Sox history to record four straight 40-double seasons. Wade Boggs was the first.
- Thornburg has a 0.64 ERA at home this season.
- Five of Mitch Moreland's last 10 hits have gone for extra bases.
- The loss means the Red Sox have lost a series at home for the first time in their last 11.