The Boston Red Sox earned the series win, but weren't able to complete the sweep of the Houston Astros with a 6-1 defeat at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday afternoon.
Boston fell to 53-53 on the season while the American League West-leading Astros improved to 68-38.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Red Sox manager Alex Cora entered Wednesday afternoon hoping Boston would be able to reset the bullpen behind the start from Rich Hill and relief appearance from Brayan Bello. It didn't go as Cora had hoped. Hill allowed four runs on six hits in three innings (58 pitches) while Bello exited the game after just 2/3 innings due to what the team revealed was a groin strain. It forced Cora to bring on a third Boston pitcher before the end of the fourth inning. Hirokazu Sawamura, Kaleb Ort and Ryan Brasier combined for the final four-plus frames.
Meanwhile, the Astros received an impressive start from José Urquidy with Boston's offense lacking much of a counterpunch. The Red Sox didn't record a hit for the first five innings as Houston built a 6-0 advantage. Boston finished with just four hits and one walk while combining to strike out 10 times.
STARS OF THE GAME
-- Urquidy did not allow a hit through the first five innings before he got out of a sixth-inning jam by striking out Rafael Devers with runners on second and third. Urquidy concluded after seven dominant innings (97 pitches) in which he allowed just two hits with 10 strikeouts.
-- Houston leadoff man Jose Altuve reached base four times as he went 4-for-4 at the plate with one run scored.
-- Xander Bogaerts got the Red Sox on the board with a solo home run in the ninth inning.
WAGER WATCH
If you took the Astros to bounce back after consecutive losses, you were in luck as Houston covered the run line (1.5) with relative ease. DraftKings Sportsbook had the Astros +110 to cover and -190 on the moneyline.
ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox return to action Thursday in Kansas City with their series opener against the Royals. First pitch is set for 8:10 p.m. ET following an hour of pregame coverage, and you can watch it with NESN 360.
