Red Sox Wrap: Pitching, Defensive Woes Continue In Loss Vs. Astros

BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox dropped their second straight game to the Houston Astros, 6-2, on Tuesday night at Fenway Park.

With the loss, the Red Sox fell to 69-64 on the season, while the Astros improved to 76-58 on the campaign.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Pitching woes continue to plague the Red Sox. Brayan Bello wasn't horrible on the mound, but the 24-year-old right-handed pitcher lasted only 4 2/3 innings and made two mistakes in the first inning that Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez capitalized on, launching back-to-back home runs to give the Astros the early 2-0 lead. It was the 13th time this season Houston has hit back-to-back homers in a game.

Bello threw 62.1% of his pitches for strikes (51-of-82 pitches) while allowing three runs, two of them earned, on four hits with two strikeouts and walking two batters. He retired the side in order in the second and third innings.

In the last five games, Boston has only had one starter, Kutter Crawford on Aug. 25, pitch exactly five innings, while all others have not made it out of the fifth inning in the other four games.

Boston's defense didn't help Bello's night with a fielding error by Rafael Devers and a double play that wasn't, which extended the fifth inning and allowed the Astros to pad their lead.

STARS OF THE GAME
-- Adam Duvall launched a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning. He was 2-for-4 from the plate and extended his hitting streak to nine games, including seven long balls during that stretch.

Adam Duvall has hit 7 home runs in his last 9 games. pic.twitter.com/jVO41BQONU

— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 30, 2023

-- Alex Verdugo went 2-for-5 on the night with a run scored. The right fielder is slashing .278/.342/.442 on the season.

-- Bregman launched his 22nd home run of the season in the first inning giving the Astros the 1-0 lead. The third baseman finished the night going 3-for-5 from the plate with two RBIs.

WAGER WATCH
FanDuel Sportsbook set the odds at +330 that Duvall would hit a home run. The Red Sox outfielder cleared those odds with his 18th homer of the season. A $100 wager on Duvall would’ve resulted in a $430 payout.

ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox will close out their series against the Astros on Wednesday afternoon. NESN's full coverage of the game from Fenway Park begins at 3 p.m. ET.