Last night didn’t go as planned for the Houston Astros as the Boston Red Sox tied the series in a 6-5 game. In Wednesday afternoon’s rubber match, Alex Bregman tied the game early with a solo shot but it wouldn’t be enough as the Red Sox take the series in a 4-1 affair.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Justin Verlander made his long-awaited return to the mound on Wednesday and immediately gave up a run. Jarren Duran hit a leadoff double into right field, then Triston Casas drove in Duran with an RBI single up the middle. Verlander struck out Wilyer Abreu and Rafael Devers in the opening frame.
Alex Bregman was up to bat first for the Astros and tied the game with a home run into the Crawford Boxes. Yainer Diaz hit an infield single but was out on a fielder’s choice and Jeremy Pena got caught stealing to end the inning.
Boston put up another run at the top of the second when nine-hole hitter Ceddanne Rafaela doubled to the shortstop to score Connor Wong from first base. The Red Sox led 2-1.
Victor Caratini had two strikes when the first inning came to a close and finished the at-bat at the bottom of the second with a groundout to first base. Jake Meyers followed that with a grounder to the shortstop and Shay Whitcomb had the same result as Caratini.
Verlander lasted four more innings and concluded his return with four hits and two runs allowed while also striking out six Red Sox batters. Boston’s Cooper Criswell was only on the mound for 4 2/3 innings as he also gave up four hits but just one run and struck out four. Zack Kelly was the one who replaced Criswell and forced Bregman into a ground out to end the frame.
Bryan King was in for one inning for the Astros but struck out all three batters to keep it a one-run game.
Boston added another run in the seventh. Masataka Yoshida led off the inning with a single into left, then stole second. Rafaela brought home another run with an RBI double to put the Red Sox up by two.
David Hamilton added one more run at the top of the ninth when he hit a solo homer over the right-field wall. Houston’s last chance to come back was squandered when rookie Zach Dezenzo was the only Houston batter to record a hit in the inning.
Houston fell to Boston 4-1, dropping their record to 68-58.
BIG NUMBER: 73
The Astros had to wait 73 days for Justin Verlander to make his return to the pitcher’s mound after missing almost two and a half months with neck soreness. His previous start was on June 9th against the Los Angeles Angels.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Ceddanne Rafaela
Rafaela helped Boston’s offense on Wednesday as he recorded two RBI on two hits as the Red Sox took game three and the series with a 4-1 win over the Astros.
UP NEXT: The Houston Astros will travel to Baltimore for a four-game series against the Orioles. Game one will be Thursday, August 22nd, and the first pitch at Oriole Park at Camden Yards is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. Astro Launch will begin at 5:45 p.m. and the action can be heard on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles.