The Red Sox limited the Houston Astros to just four hits, but sloppy infield play led to two unearned runs and a 4-3 loss.
Chris Sale went six innings and was charged with all four runs, though because of some errors, only two were earned.
Xander Bogaerts threw home wildly, allowing one run to score, while Steve Pearce was charged with another throwing error, also leading directly to an Astros run.
Boston got solo homers from Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Jackie Bradley Jr. but otherwise was stymied in collecting the big hit, going 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and failing to cash in on a bases-loaded, one-out opportunity in the fifth.
WHO: Red Sox at Houston Astros
WHEN: 8:05 p.m.
WHERE: Minute Maid Park
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: Houston 2-1
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Chris Sale (1-5, 4.31) vs. LHP Wade Miley (4-2, 3.51)
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93.7 FM
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
10:56 Impressive at-bat by Christian Vazquez, who comes off the bench to pitch hit for Sandy Leon, and hammers a ball into the left field seats for the third solo homer of the night for the Sox.
10:16 Bradley continues to rake, with his third homer on this road trip. Also, the first run allowed by Astros reliever Ryan Pressly. Pressly had been unscored upon in the first 19 games this season, and also, the final 20 of last season.
9:45 Home run by Bogaerts, who now takes over the team lead in extra-base hits, while moving him within an RBI for the team lead (Mitch Moreland) in that category
9:37 Even when they were taking three out of four in Toronto, the Red Sox had some issues with RISP earlier on this trip and they're continuing in Houston. Red Sox leave the bases loaded and are 0-for-3 with RISP so far.
9:18 Ugly, ugly play again from the Sox infield. First, an errant throw from Bogaerts can't cut down Chirinos at the plate. Then, with
8:56 Miscalculation by Bogaerts at short, who plays the in-between hop on a routine grounder and allows Yuli Gurriel to reach. Second error in three innings by the Sox.
8:52 Sale isn't quite as sharp tonight, missing his spots with some pitches. Astros are being ultra-aggressive by swinging early in the count against him.
8:37 Poor defensive play on the part of the Red Sox leads to the first run of the game for Houston. Steve Pearce makes a wild throw to Chris Sale, heading to first, enabling Aledmys Diaz to score all the way from second. The Astros easily won a footrace to the plate against Leon, arguably the slowest player in the league.
8:28 Wade Miley was tough against the Red Sox last Sunday at Fenway and looks even sharper here tonight, mixing his trademark cutter and slow curve, and keeping the ball in the bottom half of the strike zone. He's got four strikeouts against the first six hitters.
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Chavis 2B
Betts RF
Bogaerts SS
Martinez DH
Pearce 1B
Benintendi LF
Nunez 3B
Leon C
Bradley CF
ASTROS
Springer RF
Bregman 3B
Correa SS
Gurriel 1B
Diaz 2B
Chirinos C
Reddick LF
White DH
Marisnick CF
WHAT's UP: The Red Sox took three of-four in Toronto in the first series of their seven-game road trip...They're four games over .500 for the first time this season and have won 10 of 14 and 16 of 22..They've also won 11 of their last 14 on the road, outscoring opponents 90-52 in that stretch....The Red Sox have hit 41 homers in their last 21 games, ranking them third in MLB in that stretch...After starting the season 4-5 when they scored first, the Red Sox have won their last 12-3 since...The Sox have won their last 18 games when scoring five runs or more...Beginning May 4, the Sox have been charged with only four errors in their last 17 games...After losing each of their first four road series, the Red Sox have won their last four....The last time they won four straight road series was since the end of the 2016 season, when they won five in a row...The Red Sox have won their last five games in Houston -- two in the regular season and three more in the ALCS last October....Of the last 20 regular season meetings with the Astros, 10 have been decided by a single run and three others have been decided by two runs....Jackie Bradley Jr. has extra-base hits in each of his last four games, going 6-for-18 with three RBI and five runs scored...Steve Pearce is 6-for-13 in his last four games....Xander Bogaerts has 16 RBI in his last 18 games and has reached base safely in each of his last 14...Since making his major league debut last month, Michael Chavis leads the Red Sox in homers (10) and tied for the team RBI lead (26)….Among A.L. rookies with at least 50 plate appearances, Chavis either leads or is first in: home runs, slugging percentage, OBP, OPS and walks and is among the top three in batting average, RBI and runs scored...In his last 30 games, Mookie Betts has more walks than runs and has scored 29 runs....After going the first 32 games without a homer, Rafael Devers now has six in his last 18 games...He also leads MLB in hard-hit balls (95 mph exit velocity or greater) with 83....Andrew Benintendi has a seven-game hitting streak....Over the last 25 games, the Red Sox bullpen has baseball's lowest opponents batting average (.180), is second in WHIP (1.01) and third in ERA (2.49)….In four starts this month, Chris Sale has a 51-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a .143 batting average allowed and a 2.05 ERA....He's struck out at least 10 in each of those starts while not allowing more than four hits in any start...The only other pitcher in Red Sox history to match that was Pedro Martinez in 1999....Sale has thrown five or more innings in each of his last seven starts...Michael Brantley is hitting .195 (8-for-41) with 13 strikeouts...George Springer is hitting .294 (5-for-17) and Josh Reddick is hitting .313 (5-for-16)…. Betts is 6-for-11 with a homer against Wade Miley while Pearce is 7-for-22 with two homers.
PRE-GAME NOTES:
- Nathan Eovaldi (elbow) is scheduled to throw another bullpen Saturday. He could then be sent out on a brief rehab assignment in the minor league early next week.
- Alex Cora said INF Brock Holt (shoulder), continuing a rehab assignment with Double A Portland this weekend, is "close'' to being ready to return to the parent club.
- J.D. Martinez, who missed the entire four-game series in Toronto with a combination of illness and lower back stiffness, is back in the lineup tonight.
- For the second straight game, Michael Chavis is batting leadoff and Andrew Benintendi is hitting sixth in the Red Sox lineup. Cora said he could continue to use this lineup against lefties.