Red Sox slump continues: Astros sweep Boston behind Garrett Crochet’s rough start

The Red Sox are off to a brutal start to the 2026 season.

Boston dropped the series finale in Houston, 6-4, on Wednesday afternoon, completing a three-game sweep. The club will now look to regroup as it returns to Boston for its home opener Friday against the Padres.

The Sox were looking to end their four-game losing streak and sent left-handed ace Garrett Crochet to the mound. The southpaw was shaky all afternoon, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits, no walks, while striking out seven over five innings. 

“It’s embarrassing," said Crochet. "And typically in the past, I’ve played that stopper role. And today I just let the guys down, especially when we scratched one (run) early in the first. And then for me to give it right back and then ultimately give them the lead at the bottom of the first, it’s not acceptable."

The offense gave Crochet an early 1-0 lead in the first inning when cleanup hitter Willson Contreras delivered his first RBI of the season with a single to center, scoring Jarren Duran.

Crochet couldn’t hold the lead, allowing two runs in the bottom of the first on three hits, including doubles from Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes, while a costly error from Trevor Story added to the damage.

Boston answered in the second. Isiah Kiner-Falefa reached on a fielder’s choice, moved to third on a Connor Wong double, and scored on a Duran groundout.

Wong has been one of the few bright spots early, going 5-for-10 (.500) with three doubles.

In the third inning, Houston put its first two runners on, but Crochet worked out of trouble. He wasn’t as fortunate in the fifth.

With two outs and two on, Carlos Correa crushed a 1-2 sweeper left at the bottom of the zone, launching a three-run homer to left to give the Astros a 5-2 lead.

Crochet threw 91 pitches and generated 14 swings and misses. He leaned less on his four-seam fastball, throwing just 14 while averaging 95.3 mph and topping out at 96.5, according to Baseball Savant.

“Not good, not good,” Alex Cora said postgame. “We talk about cleaning up a lot of stuff, putting the ball in play, playing good defense, running the bases better, and overall this whole week wasn’t great.”

 “We’re about to go home, and I expect us to have a better response once we get there, especially with an off day to really sit on this, sit on these tough times," Crochet told reporters. "But today I felt like we made the adjustment. Ultimately, it was me that kind of screwed the game up for us.”

Former Red Sox catcher Christian Vázquez extended Houston’s lead with a solo home run off Danny Coulombe, which was the 11th homer allowed by Boston’s pitching staff through the first six games of the season.

The Sox did chip away at the Astros' lead late in the game, but it wasn't enough. Wilyer Abreu hit his third home run of the season in the eighth, and Roman Anthony, who started the game on the bench after going 4-for-21 (.190) to open the year, he delivered a pinch-hit homer in the ninth to cut the deficit to 6-4.

After getting Tuesday night off, Caleb Durbin returned to the lineup on Wednesday but continued to struggle. He struck out swinging with runners on first and second to end the fifth inning, keeping the game tied at 2-2. Durbin is now 0-for-18 with five strikeouts on the road trip.

Boston’s offense remains ice cold through six games, averaging just