All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' loss to the Astros, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
Eovaldi shelled: Even before his disastrous second inning Tuesday night, Nate Eovaldi had difficulty with the long ball this season, having allowed nine homers coming into the start -- at least one in every previous start this season except one. Contrast that to a year ago when he didn't allow his first homer of the year until the final week of May. But whatever issues Eovaldi had before Tuesday, the second inning made them seem mild by comparison. Eovaldi yielded a franchise record five in the second inning. Red Sox outfielders must have felt like they were in a shooting gallery, with shots being fired left, right and center -- and on a variety of pitches. Eovaldi simply couldn't command. No matter where he wanted it pitch, it went elsewhere, and often, ended up getting hit out of the ballpark. Neither Eovaldi nor Alex Cora thought the pitcher was tipping his pitches, since it didn't matter what he threw them -- they were hitting everything, and plenty of them hard. It was the most runs off Eovaldi since he allowed 11 in a start against San Francisco in 2013.
Martinez keeps it going: If there was a bright side for the Red Sox -- and admittedly, you had to look pretty hard to find it -- it was the night turned in by J.D. Martinez in the batter's box. Martinez singled in the first, homered in the third and doubled in the sixth. For a time in the eighth inning, it looked like Martinez might have a shot at a cycle when he clubbed a pitch deep into the triangle. But center fielder Jose Siri drifted back and corraled the ball. Still, Martinez had seven total bases on the night to go with two RBI and a run scored. "He's seeing the ball really well now,'' said Cora. "He's driving the ball to center and right center -- that's his bread and butter. He's putting good swings on good pitches, too. He'll take what they give him, and when they make mistakes, he's hitting them for power. He's in one of those stretches where it's hard to pitch to him.''
TURNING POINT
It might seem silly to isolate one thing in a nine-run inning, but for the Red Sox, an error by first baseman Franchy Cordero seemed to turn things upside down for the Sox. The Astros already had one homer to start the big inning when Yuli Gurriel hit a grounder to third. Rafael Devers fired to first, with the throw to the home plate side of first. Cordero went to stretch, but not far enough, and the ball ticked off his glove, enabling Gurriel to reach. It was a ball that should have been easily caught. Instead, it seemed to open the door for the Astros, who followed with back-to-back homers. The error meant that three of the nine runs in that inning were unearned, but in the bigger picture, maybe if Cordero closed his glove on that ball and they record the first out, maybe the inning unfolds differently. As it was, it unraveled completely.
TWO UP
Rafael Devers: Two batters into the bottom of the first, Devers gave the Red Sox an early lead with his seventh homer of the season, a shot over the home bullpen, measured at 435 feet, making it the third-longest Sox homer of the season. He later added a double and a single.
Trevor Story: Story continues to move forward offensively, contributing a double, a single and a walk, marking the third time that he's reached base three or more times since joining the Sox.
TWO DOWN
Jackie Bradley Jr.: After stinging the ball on the team's last homestand, Bradley hasn't gotten locked in in this one, going 0-for-4 Tuesday and making him 0-for-7 in the first two games since coming off the road.
Tyler Danish: The game was probably a lost cause already after the Astros hung a nine spot on Eovaldi, but Danish didn't help things when, in his second inning of work, he allowed a grand slam to Kyle Tucker, increasing Houston's already big lead.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"You can nibble or you can attack, and I felt like I was attacking. I wasn't necessarily behind in the count or anything like that. But they were jumping on pitches and every one of them was flying out.'' -- Nate Eovaldi.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* J.D. Martinez extended his hitting streak to 18 straight games and his on-base streak to 34 games, dating back to last season.
* Rafael Devers extended a hitting streak of his own to 11 games, during which he's hitting .444,
* The two-inning start was the shortest Nate Eovaldi has had since joining the Red Sox in 2018.
* The Sox had multiple homers (Rafael Devers and J,.D. Martinez) for the sixth time this season and second straight game.
UP NEXT: The Red Sox and Astros wrap up their series Wednesday at 6: 10 p.m., with RHP Nick Pivetta (1-4, 5.08) vs. RHP Luis Garcia (3-1, 2,94)