Red Sox Wrap: Boston Offense Shows Up Too Late In Loss

BOSTON -- The Red Sox dropped their series to the Houston Astros on Saturday, suffering a 5-4 loss at Fenway Park.

Boston fell to 61-54 with the loss, while Houston improved to 61-55.

You can check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The Red Sox sure did make things interesting Saturday, but it was too little, too late.

Josh Winckowski and Brad Keller -- no, not the names you'd expect -- were forced to take on hefty roles in the eventual loss to the Astros, filling in for Nick Pivetta (skipped turn in the rotation) and Cooper Criswell (COVID) as the innings eaters.

Winckowski and Keller, despite combining for seven innings, struggled mightily as they allowed three total home runs before giving way to Zack Kelly in the eighth inning. How did Kelly perform? He gave one up, too, allowing Houston to push its lead to 5-2 entering the bottom half of the inning.

Wilyer Abreu knocked in a couple of runs to cut the lead down to one, but the Red Sox couldn't muster up any more offense the following inning -- dropping their series to the Astros.

STARS OF THE GAME
-- Yordan Alvarez belted a pair of home runs Saturday, continuing his run of dominance against Boston.

-- Abreu's single in the eighth knocked home a pair of runs, giving him 44 RBIs on the year.

-- Spencer Arrighetti was superb in his first start at Fenway Park, allowing just two runs in seven innings. He finished with 13 strikeouts, setting a new career high.

UP NEXT
The Red Sox and Astros will conclude their three-game set Sunday, with first pitch from Fenway Park scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET, following an hour of pregame coverage on NESN.