Sunday was a bad day for starters and late-inning relievers in the Boston Red Sox’s matchup against the Houston Astros.
Henry Owens failed to get out of the fourth inning for the Red Sox, but Astros starter Scott Feldman didn’t fare much better, going just 4 1/3 innings himself. Both bullpens held things down through the middle innings, but Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel gave up a game-tying two-run homer to Astros outfielder Colby Rasmus in the ninth to send it to extra innings. But luckily for the Red Sox, the Astros had the same problem, with Ken Giles giving up two runs in the 12th to give Boston the 7-5 win.
Here’s how Sunday’s series finale unfolded.
GAME IN A WORD
Sloppy.
Both team are going to wish they had this one back. The Red Sox undoubtedly will be disappointed Owens went just 3 1/3 innings, but Feldman only lasted one more full inning than Owens did. Add three Houston errors, some bad Boston baserunning and a few extra innings to the mix, and you have the recipe for a rough baseball game.
IT WAS OVER WHEN …
Giles gave up two runs in the 12th to give Boston the lead.
Giles loaded the bases with one out before giving up an RBI single to Jackie Bradley Jr. and allowing Ryan Hanigan to cross the plate on a wild pitch. The Astros made a comeback bid in the bottom half after getting two baserunners on with two outs, but Heath Hembree held it down for the win.
ON THE BUMP
— Owens’ first major league start of 2016 was a dud. The left-hander got the call to fill in for the injured Joe Kelly, but he struggled with his command from the get-go.
It honestly could have been a lot worse. Owens loaded the bases before retiring a single batter in the third inning, but he ended up allowing just two runs there. Still, he was up to 86 pitches — 46 for strikes — after 3 1/3 innings, so he ended his night there with three runs on five hits with four strikeouts, four walks and a home run.
— Matt Barnes finished off the fourth inning for Owens and came back for the fifth and sixth innings, too. The right-hander was clean through two full innings, giving up only one hit with one walk and one strikeout. Junichi Tazawa relieved Barnes with one out in the sixth and induced a groundout and a flyout to end the frame.
Tazawa started the seventh inning by allowing a single to Carlos Correa, but he retired the side to finish his night with 1 2/3 scoreless innings and two strikeouts.
— Koji Uehara pitched for the first time since taking a loss against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 18, and the extra rest did the right-hander good. Uehara enjoyed a 1-2-3 eighth inning with two strikeouts.
— Craig Kimbrel came on in the ninth and blew the save. The closer allowed a two-out double to Correa before giving up a game-tying two-run homer to Colby Rasmus, finishing with two runs on two hits with two strikeouts.
— Heath Hembree, however, picked up the Boston bullpen. He got into a scare with one out in the 12th after a Travis Shaw error and a Carlos Gomez single, but two straight strikeouts ended the game. Hembree allowed just two hits with four strikeouts over three scoreless innings.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Unsurprisingly, everyone in the Red Sox’s lineup reached base Sunday. Mookie Betts led off, going 2-for-7 with a run and a stolen base, and Dustin Pedroia followed him by going 3-for-7 with a triple, a double and a run.
— Xander Bogaerts didn’t get a hit until the 11th inning, but the shortstop went 1-for-5 with a walk. Travis Shaw also didn’t tally a hit until extras, hitting a single in the 12th to go 1-for-5.
— David Ortiz went 2-for-5 with a walk and a run. Hanley Ramirez went 2-for-6 with an RBI that he earned on a fielder’s choice, a run and a stolen base.
— Brock Holt went 1-for-3 with a walk, a run and an RBI.
— Ryan Hanigan had a good night, going 2-for-5 with an RBI double, two runs and a key walk in the 12th that he earned in a 13-pitch plate appearance.
— Jackie Bradley Jr. went 2-for-6 with an RBI double and put the Red Sox ahead in the 12th with an RBI single.
TWEET OF THE NIGHT
The fans who stayed for extra innings at Minute Maid Park were treated to a great performance by one of their own.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox head straight to Atlanta for the first game of their home-and-home interleague series against the Braves on Monday. Rick Porcello starts for Boston, while the Braves send out right-hander Julio Teheran in the 7:10 p.m. ET game.
Thumbnail photo via Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports Images
