The Red Sox are back in the win column.
And Martín Pérez is a big reason why. The left-hander delivered the best outing by a Red Sox starter this season, twirling 7 2/3 shutout innings Thursday in Boston's 5-1 win over the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. The Red Sox avoided a four-game sweep at the hands of the Astros with the victory.
Christian Arroyo and Xander Bogaerts accounted for all of the offense, with the former hitting a three-run home run (his first homer of the season) and the latter producing a two-run double.
The Rays also won Thursday, meaning Boston remains two games back of Tampa Bay for first place in the American League East.
The Red Sox improved to 33-23 with the win while the Astros dropped to 31-25 with the loss.
Here's how it all went down:
GAME IN A WORD
Needed.
The Red Sox needed a win, and their bullpen needed a breather. Both things happened.
ON THE BUMP
-- It was all about Pérez.
The veteran left-hander was excellent, allowing six hits while walking one and striking out four over 82 pitches in his finest outing as a member of the Red Sox.
-- Pérez also got help from his defense, with these great plays from Arroyo and Bobby Dalbec:
-- Adam Ottavino took over with two on and two out in the eight, and retired Alex Bregman to end the threat.
-- Brandon Workman made his Red Sox return in the ninth and gave up a one-out solo homer to Yuli Gurriel. He otherwise looked solid, striking out two with his fastball operating in the low 90s.
IN THE BATTER'S BOX
-- The Red Sox only had eight hits, and all of their runs came on two of them.
Rafael Devers hit a double to lead off the third inning, followed by a Hunter Renfroe walk. That set the stage for Arroyo, who took Astros starter Jake Odorizzi deep with a three-run homer to left field
-- Boston squandered multiple opportunities in the middle innings for breaking through in the seventh.
-- Following an Alex Verdugo walk and J.D. Martinez double, Bogaerts broke out of a major slump with a two-run double off Houston reliever Cristian Javier.
-- Martinez and Bogaerts were the only members of the lineup with multiple hits, both going 2-for-5.
-- Danny Santana, Kevin Plawecki and Dalbec all went hitless.
TWEET OF THE DAY
A worthy Throwback Thursday video:
UP NEXT
The Red Sox will head to New York where they'll begin a three-game series with the Yankees on Friday night. First pitch from Yankee Stadium is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET.
