Xander Bogaerts and Mookie Betts continued to be red hot but it wasn’t enough on Saturday afternoon as the Boston Red Sox fell 5-3 to the Houston Astros at Fenway Park.
Bogaerts had three hits and two RBI, including his 21st homer of the season. Betts and Andrew Benintendi had two hits each.
Eduardo Rodriguez (12-4) struggled on the mound to start and the Red Sox couldn’t recover. Rodriguez allowed five runs on seven hits and two walks in 3.1 innings.
The Red Sox did have the winning run up to the plate with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning. The game ended when JD Martinez hit into a double play.
Bobby Poyner was excellent out of the bullpen. Poyner threw two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Poyner could pitch himself into a role in the postseason.
Rick Porcello and Dallas Keuchel is the scheduled pitching matchup in the final game of the series on Sunday night. The Red Sox will look to avoid getting swept in the three game series.
