The Boston Red Sox fumbled a two-run go-ahead rally in the sixth inning against the Houston Astros to begin a crucial three-game road series on Tuesday night, which ended with a Yainer Diaz walk-off home run at Minute Maid Park.
That marked Boston's MLB-leading 12th blown save since the All-Star break, highlighting an ongoing issue that the front office attempted to rectify before the July 30 trade deadline: pitching depth. Red Sox manager Alex Cora, again, pushed all the right buttons, most notably by calling upon left-handed hitter Masataka Yoshida to pinch hit in the sixth inning when Houston leaned to right-handed reliever Tayler Scott out of the bullpen -- a move that resulted in Yoshida crushing a two-run homer.
Yet, despite Boston's 12-17 record in the second half, the Red Sox sit a still-feasible 4 1/2 games out of the American League wild card race. Boston recently welcomed back power hitters Triston Casas and Tyler O'Neill, and signed southpaw pitcher Rich Hill -- who reported to Triple-A on Sunday. The team will need all the help it can get as Boston's window to secure a postseason spot is rapidly closing.
Cora stuck with the left-handed bat against the right-handed pitcher approach to counter Houston's starter Ronel Blanco. Lefty hitters Wilyer Abreu, David Hamilton and Masataka Yoshida returned to the lineup while Danny Jansen, too, returns to start behind the plate.
Nick Pivetta takes the ball for Boston to start, fresh off surrendering three runs through five innings of work on the mound last Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles to begin the seven-game road trip.
Here are the lineups for Boston and Houston:
BOSTON RED SOX (65-59)
Jarren Duran, CF
Wilyer Abreu, RF
Triston Casas, 1B
Rafael Devers, 3B
Tyler O'Neill, LF
Masataka Yoshida, DH
Danny Jansen, C
David Hamilton, 2B
Ceddanne Rafaela, SS
Nick Pivetta, RHP (5-8, 4.49 ERA)
HOUSTON ASTROS (68-56)
Jose Altuve, 2B
Yordan Alvarez, DH
Yainer Diaz, C
Jeremy Peña, SS
Jon Singleton, 1B
Mauricio Dubón, LF
Jake Myers, CF
Shay Whitcomb, 3B
Chas McCormick, RF
Yainer Diaz, RHP (9-6, 2.89 ERA)
