All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 7-3 loss to the Astros, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Poor start by Velazquez dooms Sox: The night began poorly for Hector Velazquez when George Springer clubbed his first pitch of the game for a triple. It went downhill from there. Velazquez faced just six batters before being lifted and five of the six reached and eventually scored. It was the worst outing for a Red Sox starter since John Burkett allowed seven runs in a third of an inning on September 24, 2003. "It didn't seem like he had good stuff,'' said Alex Cora. "He wasn't pitching to the edges.'' Velazquez, too, got a sense very early that it wasn't his night. "They hit a triple, I made a couple of mistakes and I tried to battle through it but I couldn't,'' he said. "They stayed off of pitches that are normally my go-to pitches and I just couldn't make a quicker adjustment.'' Velazquez's spot in the rotation comes up again Thursday in Toronto, but Cora said it was premature to say whether he would make his start as scheduled.
Offense takes the night off: In 18 innings in the series against Houston, the Red Sox have managed just four runs. Some of the credit goes to the Astros' pitching staff, but the Sox have to take some blame, too, for their poor situational hitting. The team has stranded 16 runners over the first two games, but more tellingly, they're just 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position. Twice on Saturday night, the Sox had the bases loaded -- once in the first and again in the fifth -- and came away with just one run from the two chances. And even that was more of a gift from the Astros, since the run scored on a passed ball by Houston catcher Max Stassi. "We haven't been able to get that hit with men in scoring position,'' acknowledged Cora. "We had some shots there, but we didn't get the big hit.''
Relievers get their work in: With Velazquez yanked after facing just six batters, the Sox had 26 outs to still get, meaning a quarter of relievers who haven't pitched much of late got a chance to work. Colten Brewer allowed two inherited runners to score on the first hitter he faced in the second, then gave up a solo run in the second before settling down. Ryan Weber went the three middle innings and allowed one run and that's the only run he's given up over eight innings of relief since being promoted from Pawtucket. Even Tyler Thornburg, who had been scored on in each of his previous six appearances out of the bullpen, managed to toss two scoreless frames, though, with two walks in the seventh, his control remains an issue. Finally, Josh Smith pitched the ninth, allowing one hit while recording a strikeout.
TURNING POINT
Even after spotting the Astros a 5-0 lead in the first, the Red Sox weren't out of this one. In fact, after two singles, a stolen base and a walk, the Sox had the potential tying run at the plate for a couple of at-bats in the fifth. But reliever Josh James caught Xander Bogaerts looking at a called third strike and Rafael Devers ended the threat by bouncing out to third, stranding three baserunners.
ONE UP
Ryan Weber: Weber, making his third appearance for the Sox out of the bullpen, gave them three innings during which he allowed just one run — a solo homer to Josh Reddick.
TWO DOWN
Xander Bogaerts: A rare off-night for the shortstop, who stranded four runners over the course of two at-bats, dropped a throw that proved costly during a botched rundown and was charged with an error in the fifth.
Rafael Devers: Devers has cooled considerably in the last few days (0-for-11) and it didn't get any better Saturday night as the third baseman went 0-for-4 and twice made the final out of an inning with the bases loaded.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"It looked from the get-go that he didn't have it.'' Cora on starter Velazquez.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Mitch Moreland has 17 RBI in his last 14 games.
- Christian Vazquez is hitting .474 (18-for-38) in the month of May.
- The seven runs allowed by the Red Sox were the most against them since April 23. vs. Detroit.
- The loss ensured a series loss for the Sox, who had won their previous four in a row.