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 2.83 runs per game. The Red Sox struck out 13 times for the second straight game and fanned 38 times in the series.

“We’re chasing a lot, we are, and we’re getting beat in the zone,” Cora said. “We’ve been chasing too but I think we’ve been getting beat in the zone so that’s something we have to adjust right away. We have to be ready for Friday.”

The Red Sox will have Thursday off before returning to Fenway Park for their home opener Friday against the Padres, with first pitch scheduled for 2:10 p.m.

Boston will hand the ball to Sonny Gray for his second start with the club. He’ll be looking for a better outing after a shaky debut last Saturday against the Reds, when he allowed three earned runs while throwing 80 pitches (51 strikes) with one walk and five strikeouts.

Carlos Narváez Benched

Red Sox catcher Carlos Narváez was initially in the starting lineup for the series finale against the Astros but was later scratched and replaced by Wong, raising questions about a potential injury.

Before the game, Cora declined to provide specifics, saying the decision was not injury-related.

“Let’s keep it between me and Carlos,” Cora said, according to MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “He understands. This is something that happens on every club. It just happens to be early in the season, and I think it’s the right thing to do.”

After the game, Narváez echoed that sentiment.

“Like AC said this morning, we want to keep it between us,” Narváez said. When asked if he agreed with the decision, he added, “Yeah, I respect it. There’s nothing wrong. Just gotta keep going.”

Triston Casas Banged Up

Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas has been shut down from hitting due to a left intercostal strain.

Casas is currently on the 10-day injured list as he works his way back from season-ending surgery in May 2025 to repair a ruptured left patellar tendon.

The injury adds to his recent history, as Casas was limited to 63 games in 2024 after tearing cartilage in his rib cage on a swing in Pittsburgh.

“Casas has had a setback,” Cora said before Wednesday’s series finale against the Astros.

“Sore ribs. So we’ve shut down the hitting for a while,” Cora added. “It just happened a few days ago, so we have to slow it down. It’s nothing related to the knee — he’s doing well there — but this happened swinging, so we have to shut him down, at least for now.”