The Red Sox cannot wipe away this road trip fast enough. Fenway Park, here they come.
Another loss to the Houston Astros, a 6-4 final on Wednesday, spelled more of the same. Too many strikeouts. Too many errors. Not good enough in any phase. Not even Crochet Day could put the Red Sox back in the win column. Wilyer Abreu and Roman Anthony tried to save the day with late home runs, but Boston heads east with just their Opening Day win in Cincinnati to show.
Here are three takeaways from Boston’s series finale in Houston.
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Shaky, not sharp for Crochet
The Astros certainly do not fear the 2025 American League Cy Young Award runner-up. In fact, they attacked him unlike any other offense since he donned the Red Sox uniform.
Houston tagged Crochet for five runs in just four innings of work last August. Wednesday at Daikin Park marked more of the same for the lefty. Crochet finished five innings, the only Red Sox pitcher of the series to do so. The Astros took flight in that span with six hits and five runs (four earned) in another offensive burst.
The southpaw struck out seven, though Carlos Correa delivered the backbreaking swing of the start. The veteran infielder walloped a 1-2 sweeper into the Crawford boxes. The Astros took the lead, knocked Crochet out following the inning and delivered another gut punch to the visitors.
Connor Wong: XBH machine?
Boston’s backup catcher was an offensive liability last season. He didn’t log his first extra-base hit until July 25.
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Well, aided by Carlos Narvaez’s mysterious scratch, Wong is as hot as any Red Sox hitter thus far. He roped his third double of the season Wednesday afternoon. Sustainable? Doubtful, but we’ll see. In any measure, a serviceable Wong would be a welcomed Red Sox surprise.
So long, Mr. Alvarez
The good news? The Red Sox are done pitching to Yordan Alvarez (for now).
The bad news? They’ll see him again in exactly a month.
Alvarez is as much of a Red Sox killer as any slugger to ever face Boston. The stat ran through multiple broadcasts during the series: No qualified hitter (100 at-bats) has a higher OPS (1.280) in history against Boston than Alvarez — next in line in that stat is some guy named Babe Ruth. The 2021 ALCS MVP continued his reign with another monstrous series to the tune of a .545 average with two homers and a 1.888 OPS. He added two more hits and a pair of runs scored Wednesday, along with a staredown of Crochet after Boston’s starter plunked the Houston slugger.
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Alvarez comes to Fenway Park with the Astros the first weekend of May. Beware.
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