Game 33: Red Sox Lose 6–3 Because Apparently Scoring With Runners On Base Is Illegal Now
Houston tried to hand Boston the game with walks, traffic, and opportunity. The Red Sox responded by lighting those opportunities on fire and staring at the smoke like it was analytics.
The Red Sox lost 6–3 to Houston, dropped to 13–20, and sit nine games behind the Yankees in the AL East, which is a sentence that should come with a complimentary paper bag and a crisis counselor. ESPN lists the final at Fenway, Boston’s 13–20 record, Houston’s 12–8 edge in hits, and Boston leaving 10 runners stranded, because apparently the Red Sox offense now operates like a haunted escape room: plenty of people inside, nobody gets out.
Early Got Mugged In Broad Daylight
Connelly Early came in as one of the few things Red Sox fans could look at without immediately developing forehead veins. Then the Astros turned his start into a neighborhood crime scene.
He walked Carlos Correa to open the game, struck out Yordan Alvarez, walked Isaac Paredes, and then Christian Walker singled home Correa to make it 1–0 before anyone had even finished pretending Fenway was going to be fun today. The play-by-play had Early giving up that first-inning run, then getting bailed out by a double play from Trevor Story to Marcelo Mayer to Willson Contreras.
By the fourth inning, the whole thing went from “rough start” to “somebody turn off the stove, the kitchen is on fire.” Walker singled. Jose Altuve doubled. Then Brice Matthews hit a three-run homer to center, and suddenly it was 4–0. Cam Smith doubled, Carlos Correa singled him home, and it was 5–0 Astros. Early’s day: four innings, six hits, five earned runs, three walks, three strikeouts. MLB noted it was the first time he allowed more than three earned runs in his major league career.
So, yes, the kid had a bad day. It happens. But with this Red Sox team, a bad day from the starter is like finding out the parachute has a hole after the plane already exploded.
Brice Matthews Treated Fenway Like His Personal Bounce House
Brice Matthews did not just hurt the Red Sox. He entered Fenway, took off his shoes, jumped on the couch, ate the snacks, and then asked if anyone had more dip.
His three-run homer in the fourth was the hammer blow, the kind of swing that makes NESN cut to a fan in the stands looking like he just remembered he refinanced his house to buy season tickets. Matthews finished 2-for-3 with a homer and three RBIs, and he also robbed Willson Contreras with a leaping catch at the center-field wall, ruining what could have been a bigger Boston inning. ESPN and Reuters both credited Matthews’ homer and catch as major turning points in Houston’s 6–3 win.
That catch was especially disgusting because the Red Sox had actual offensive pulse for a second. Contreras hit one deep enough to make people lean forward. Then Matthews jumped up and snatched it like Boston’s dignity. Which, to be fair, has been available for theft for weeks.
Christian Walker Beat Them With A Bat, Then Scared Everybody With The Helmet Shot
Christian Walker went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, two runs, and a solo homer. He singled in the first run, homered in the fifth, and spent the afternoon treating Red Sox pitching like it owed him money. ESPN’s box score had Walker at 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs, while Reuters noted he and Matthews combined for five RBIs.
Then in the ninth, Tyler Samaniego hit Walker in the head with a fastball, which immediately turned the game from irritating to scary. Walker exited, and thankfully, reports said he passed concussion testing and felt OK afterward.
So the Astros got the win, the home runs, the defensive gems, and apparently the only health update that wasn’t another Red Sox fan developing acid reflux.
The Offense Was A Group Project Where Everyone Forgot The Assignment
The Red Sox had chances. Real chances. Not imaginary “we hit the ball hard according to a spreadsheet” chances. Actual runners-on-base, score-runs-like-a-normal-baseball-team chances.
Bottom third: Ceddanne Rafaela singled, stole second, Connor Wong moved him over, Caleb Durbin walked, Jarren Duran walked. Bases loaded. One out. Willson Contreras grounded into a double play. Beautiful. Just beautiful. Like watching a man carry a birthday cake into a room and immediately step on a rake.
Bottom fourth: Roman Anthony walked. Wilyer Abreu walked. Two on, nobody out. Trevor Story struck out. Marcelo Mayer grounded out. Rafaela struck out. No runs.
Bottom fifth: Boston finally scored on a Contreras sacrifice fly, but even that came with Matthews making the leaping catch because apparently Houston defenders were legally allowed to use jetpacks.
Bottom seventh: now we get the tease. Contreras singled. Roman Anthony walked. Wilyer Abreu singled in a run. Trevor Story singled in another. Masataka Yoshida walked. Bases loaded. Two outs. A real chance. The tying run was on base.
Then Rafaela struck out looking.
Of course he did.
The Red Sox cut it to 6–3 and left the bases loaded because this team doesn’t rally. It sends a strongly worded email to the concept of rallying and then forgets to hit send. Reuters noted Boston had two bases-loaded opportunities and left 10 men on base.
Spencer Arrighetti Walked Five Guys And Boston Still Treated Him Like Pedro In 1999
Here’s the part that makes you want to throw a folding chair into a kiddie pool: Spencer Arrighetti walked five batters in five innings.
Five.
That should be a flashing neon sign that says, “Please take this game.” Instead, Boston scored one run off him. One. He allowed five hits, walked five, threw 87 pitches, and somehow left with the win. ESPN had Arrighetti going five innings with one earned run, four strikeouts, and five walks, improving to 4–0 with a 1.96 ERA.
That is offensive malpractice. That is not baseball. That is a team looking at free baserunners like they’re suspicious packages.
The Fake Comeback Was The Most Red Sox Thing Possible
The seventh inning was peak 2026 Red Sox. Down 6–1, they finally woke up. Abreu singled in Contreras. Story singled in Anthony. Yoshida walked. Bases loaded. The crowd had a pulse. Fenway remembered it was not legally required to sound like a dentist waiting room.
And then nothing.
Kai-Wei Teng came in during the mess, struck out Rafaela looking, and stopped the inning cold. Reuters noted Teng worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings after escaping that bases-loaded jam.
That was the whole game in one at-bat. Hope walks in. Hope takes off its jacket. Hope sits down. Then the Red Sox offense hits it with a frying pan.
Final Thought: This Team Is Not Bad In A Normal Way
Bad teams just lose. This team performs little experimental theater pieces about losing.
They fall behind early. They load the bases. They hit into double plays. They strand ten runners. They make the other team’s starter look better than he was. They stage a late comeback just long enough for fans to get emotionally invested, then they slam the door on their own fingers and call it process.
The Astros did not play some flawless masterpiece. They walked Boston into the game. They gave the Red Sox traffic. They left the door open.
The Red Sox looked at the open door, nodded politely, and ran face-first into the wall next to it.
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