Carlos Correa’s two-out, three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning changed the game, helping the Houston Astros complete a three-game sweep against the visiting Boston Red Sox with a 6-4 win on Wednesday afternoon.
Correa and Christian Vazquez both went deep, Yordan Alvarez went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored, and Mike Burrows (1-1) pitched five innings of two-run ball with six strikeouts for Houston, which has won five straight since an 0-2 start.
Correa’s long ball off Boston ace Garrett Crochet (1-1) broke a 2-2 tie.
Wilyer Abreu (2-for-4) and Roman Anthony homered in the eighth and ninth, respectively, as the Red Sox attempted to stage a late comeback, but a 1-for-7 showing with runners in scoring position and seven men left on base did them in. Connor Wong also had two hits.
Crochet struck out seven but allowed five runs (four earned) through five innings.
Jarren Duran’s move into the leadoff spot paid instant dividends for Boston in the first, as he lined a single to left field before scoring the opening run on a Willson Contreras single up the middle.
Houston responded with a two-run first, scoring in its first at-bats for the third time in as many games in the series. After Crochet struck out Jose Altuve to lead off the game, Alvarez and Isaac Paredes knocked back-to-back doubles to plate the tying run. Correa then reached on an error, and Christian Walker lined a go-ahead single to left.
Three straight baserunners to begin the second helped the Red Sox draw back even. Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s fielder’s choice and a Wong double to left created an RBI opportunity for Duran, whose grounder to short plated the run.
After Boston made it a 2-2 game, the starting pitchers posted dueling zeroes over several frames, with Burrows striking out the side in the third and Crochet doing the same in the fourth.
Crochet retired six straight Astros before Altuve singled and Alvarez was hit by a pitch, setting the stage for Correa — who previously grounded into a 5-4-3 double play — to send a low pitch into the left field Crawford Boxes for his first round-tripper.
In the seventh, Vazquez greeted Boston reliever Danny Coulombe with a leadoff solo shot to center field, extending the Houston lead to 6-2.
Vazquez’s swing proved to be key insurance as Boston staged a comeback with solo shots in back-to-back innings. The hosts had an opportunity for even more as Red Sox reliever Garrett Whitlock labored through a 37-pitch eighth inning, but a bases-loaded strikeout ended the threat without any damage.
After Anthony’s pinch-hit homer in the ninth, Bryan Abreu struck out the side to record his first save.
