Houston Astros at Boston Red Sox

· Major League Baseball

Houston Astros

62-55, 30-29 Away

Final
10 - 2

Boston Red Sox

61-56, 27-32 Home

Alex Bregman hits 3-run HR, Yordan Alvarez follows with solo shot as Astros beat Red Sox 10-2

It was the fifth straight win for the AL West-leading Astros, who also swept a three-game series in Fenway Park last season. Houston has won seven of its last eight series in Boston.

“Big swings, a ton of good at-bats throughout,” Astros manager Joe Espada said of the series.

Jeremy Peña added a two-run homer and Yainer Diaz had a two-run double for the Astros, who improved to a season-best seven games over .500 (62-55).

Boston starter James Paxton limped off the field after straining his right calf while making a quick move to cover first on a grounder in the opening inning.

“I felt like I got kicked in the calf. Then, I kind of turned around, took another step and I felt it again,” Paxton said. “I was like: ‘It's not good. It's my calf.' I felt it pop.”

The Red Sox have lost four straight, and they’ve given up a major-league worst 47 homers since the All-Star break. Boston came in an MLB-best 16-3 in Sunday games.

Boston first baseman Dominic Smith pitched a scoreless ninth, with his first pitch recorded at 32 mph. He tipped his cap walking off after getting a loud ovation.

Hunter Brown (10-7) struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs.

With Houston leading 1-0, Bregman hit a shot against Brennan Bernardino an estimated 441 feet that left Fenway completely over the Green Monster. Alvarez then sent his drive into the center-field bleachers.

Alvarez went 2 for 2, increasing his average to .482 in 15 career games in Fenway with eight homers and 20 RBI.

“Just to be able to be his teammate and be able to watch what he does on a day-to-day basis is special,” Bregman said of Alvarez. “He hits for average line-to-line, hits the ball out of the ballpark anywhere, so he's always fun to watch and he's very clutch, too. ... He always gets his ‘A' swing off.”

After hitting two homers a day earlier, the 27-year-old slugger was compared by Red Sox manager Alex Cora to Hall of Famer and former Red Sox star David Ortiz, along with Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.

“For me, he’s up there with Judge, to be honest with you,” Cora said. “Closest thing to David, probably, in the game. Very, very, very similar to David Ortiz.”

Peña’s drive also cleared the Monster seats, coming in a four-run sixth that made it 10-0.

Reliever Lucas Sims (1-6) was the loser after Bernardino’s wild pitch allowed a runner that he left on to score

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: Espada said “everything was positive” on ace RHP Justin Verlander after he had a rehab start for Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday night. They were waiting to hear from Verlander, but the plan is another rehab start before thinking about coming back to the majors. ... Bregman slid into a wall hard chasing a foul pop, but stayed in.

Red Sox: 3B Rafael Devers had the day off. “He’s been grinding through it,” Cora said. “It makes sense and hopefully (Monday) he’ll be back.” ... SS Trevor Story is still expected to take BP on the field Monday as he works back from shoulder surgery quicker than originally expected.

Astros: LHP Framber Valdez (11-5, 3.46 ERA) is expected to start the opener of a three-game series Monday on the road against Tampa Bay.

Red Sox: Cora said RHP Brayan Bello (10-5, 5.16) would come off the paternity list and make his start Monday when Boston plays the first of three against Texas. RHP Tyler Mahle (0-1, 1.80) is slated to start for the Rangers.

How can I watch Houston Astros vs. Boston Red Sox?

TV Channel: Astros at Red Sox 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Red Sox: 52.5%

Astros: 47.5%

*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

	9th Inning	Wong struck out looking.
	9th Inning	González struck out looking.
	9th Inning	Abreu flied out to right.
	9th Inning	Dubin relieved King
	9th Inning	Dubón grounded into double play, third to second to first, Meyers out at second.
	9th Inning	Meyers walked.

Statistics

HOU		BOS
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
1	Hit By Pitch	0
15	Ground Balls	10
8	Strikeouts	13
9	Runs Batted In	2
0	Sacrifice Hit	0
13	Hits	6
1	Stolen Bases	0
4	Walks	2
0	Catcher Interference	0
10	Runs	2
2	Ground Into Double Play	2
0	Sacrifice Flies	0
39	At Bats	30
3	Home Runs	0
0	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
15	Runners Left On Base	10
0	Triples	0
0	Game Winning RBIs	0
1	Intentional Walks	0
3	Doubles	0
16	Fly Balls	7
0	Caught Stealing	1
144	Pitches	141
0	Games Started	0
1	Pinch At Bats	0
0	Pinch Hits	0
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
1	Is Qualified In Steals	1
25	Total Bases	6
44	Plate Appearances	32
486.0	Projected Home Runs	0.0
6	Extra Base Hits	0
9.1	Runs Created	0.2
.333	Batting Average	.200
.000	Pinch Hit Average	.000
.641	Slugging Percentage	.200
.436	Secondary Average	.033
.409	On Base Percentage	.250
1.050	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	.450
0.9	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	1.4
8.8	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	0.2
67.0	Batter Rating	14.0
13.0	At Bats Per Home Run	0.0
1.00	Stolen Base Percentage	0.00
3.27	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	4.41
.308	Isolated Power	.000
0.50	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	0.15
.091	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.063
.103	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	-.167
19.0	Runs Produced	4.0
0.9	Runs Ratio	1.0
0.7	Patience Ratio	0.2
0.4	Balls In Play Average	0.4
109.0	MLB Rating	66.0
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0