G51: Astros 4, Red Sox 3

Red Sox   - 000 001 011 - 3  7  3
Astros    - 011 200 00x - 4  4  0

Sloppy fielding by the Red Sox infield handed the Astros a handful of early runs and the bats wasted numerous scoring opportunities. Chris Sale (6-3-4-2-5, 89) was not sharp and was outpitched by Wade Miley (6-4-1-2-8, 102), which - simply put - should never happen.

The Red Sox are 3-8 in Sale's starts:

I don't really care whether I'm 6-1, 0-6, 0-0 for the whole year. I just want [the team] to win the games I pitch in. It sucks ... I'm not the biggest fan of coming in here to a quiet clubhouse, but it's on me. ... I have to find a way to win.

Miley - throwing more four-seam fastballs than when he faced the Red Sox last week - retired the first ten Boston batters (and had a 2-0 lead) before Mookie Betts doubled in the fourth. Xander Bogaerts walked, but J.D. Martinez grounded into a 4-6-3 double play. In the fifth, the Red Sox - now trailing 4-0 - loaded the bases with one out, but Jackie Bradley struck out and Michael Chavis lined out to center.

Bogaerts homered in the sixth and Bradley led off the eighth against Ryan Pressly with a dong, snapping Pressly's MLB record of 40 consecutive scoreless appearances. Betts singled and, with two outs, Bogaerts walked. Mitch Moreland batted for Steve Pearce and struck out looking.

After Heath Hembree walked the bases loaded in the eighth, but escaped trouble, the Red Sox, still down 4-2, made a little noise against Roberto Osuna in the ninth. Andrew Benintendi led off with a fly to deep center, but Marisnick made an spectacular over-the-shoulder catch on the warning track. (Marisnick also robbed Benintendi in the fifth with a diving catch in short left-center.)

Eduardo Núñez struck out (Rafael Devers, unfortunately, was given the entire night off). Christian Vázquez homered to left to cut the Astros' lead to 4-3. Osuna struck out Bradley on three pitches.

Boston (27-24) is now six games behind the Yankees in the AL East.

Also, some linescore fun in San Francisco last night:

Diamondbacks - 122 333 400 - 18 21  0
Giants       - 200 000 000 -  2  7  1

In the seventh inning, Giants fans were chanting: "Let Pablo pitch!"

Chris Sale / Wade Miley

Chavis, 2B
Betts, RF
Bogaerts, SS
Martinez, DH
Pearce, 1B
Benintendi, LF
Núñez, 3B
León, C
Bradley, CF

Rafael Devers is the only Red Sox player who has appeared in every game this season, starting all but two of the team's 50 games. He begins the evening on the bench.

Devers leads all MLB players with 83 batted balls with an exit velocity of 95+ MPH. The next three: Josh Bell, Pirates (81), José Abreu, White Sox (77), and Cody Bellinger, Dodgers (76).

MFY at Royals was postponed and will be played tomorrow afternoon as the first game of a day-night doubleheader.