Red Sox Notes: Alex Cora Experiences Déjà Vu In Loss To Astros

BOSTON -- The way things unfolded in the later innings for the Boston Red Sox on Friday night against the Houston Astros didn't come as a surprise to manager Alex Cora.

The Red Sox carried a two-run lead into the seventh inning only for things to fall apart completely with the result being an 8-4 loss to the Astros at Fenway Park.

"I've seen that game a lot since Game 4 of '21 (American League Championship Series)," Cora said. "It just happens quick."

It certainly did happen in a blink as the Red Sox bullpen had no answer against Houston's bats, which put up seven runs on 12 hits against Boston's relievers over the final three innings.

Jake Meyers started the top of the seventh inning with a triple off Lucas Sims and after a strikeout of Mauricio Dubón, José Altuve crushed a two-run blast to level the score. Sims allowed back-to-back singles after Altuve's homer and Zack Kelly couldn't stop the bleeding either as the two combined to allow six straight hits in the inning.

The Red Sox bullpen looked like it was turning into a source of strength since it added two relievers at the deadline and got back Chris Martin earlier in the week. But it faltered in a big way against an Astros team that Cora is all too familiar with.

"We've been talking about this since the trade deadline. We're getting healthy and we got arms and it didn't happen today," Cora said. "I always say that's a fast-break offense. When they get going, they get going. The triple, we get the strikeout and then the little man got a sweeper in his nitro zone and that's what he does. And then after that, we weren't able to slow them down."

The Red Sox had been solid as of late, but this performance will put a sour taste in their mouth until able to wash it out by coming through with a better showing.

"Very (disappointing)," Sims said. "But you learn from it and shower it off and move on to the next day."

Here are more notes from Friday's Red Sox-Astros game:

-- Nick Sogard's hot streak to begin his big-league career continued against the Astros. He went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored. He also recorded his first career steal, too. The 26-year-old infielder, who is batting .318 since being called up last Wednesday, is the first Red Sox player since Rafael Devers in 2017 to reach base in each of his first six MLB games.

"He's been grinding all the way through the minors and he's doing the same thing here," Tanner Houck said.

-- Houck turned in a gritty performance on the mound and it was a step in the right direction after registering a 6.88 ERA over his last three starts. The veteran right-hander tossed six innings, in which he allowed one run on four hits with three walks and one strikeout to log a quality start.

"I think I made really good in-game adjustments," Houck said. "Early on struggled with the command a little bit. But ultimately was able to kind of bounce back, make the pitches when I needed to. All in all great game to look back and learn from and continue to grow."

-- Kaleb Ort, who pitched each of the last three seasons with the Red Sox, has found a home in the Astros bullpen and looked like a different pitcher, too. The right-hander featured a 99.5 mph fastball to dominate over 1 1/3 innings and fanned three Red Sox hitters. He also didn't allow a hit. Ort was claimed off waivers by the Seattle Mariners at the end of last season before bouncing around with several teams before winding up on the Astros.

-- Standings Watch: The Red Sox didn't lose any ground in the American League wild-card race with the Kansas City Royals losing to the St. Louis Cardinals. Boston remains 1 1/2 games behind Kansas City for the final playoff spot.

-- The Red Sox and Astros battle again Saturday from Fenway Park. Boston named Josh Winckowski as the starter with it skipping Nick Pivetta's spot in the rotation. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.