![\"Boston](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SOXsc020.jpg\")
Boston Red Sox pitcher Jordan Hicks screams after the final out of the seventh with the bases loaded. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill\/Boston Herald)<\/p>\nAgainst some teams, a four-run lead seems like enough.<\/p>\n
The Astros aren\u2019t typically one of those teams, but thanks to a gutsy combined performance by seven Boston pitchers, the Red Sox pulled off a 7-3 come-from-behind victory to take their third straight series and overtake the Yankees in both the American League East and Wild Card standings.<\/p>\n
It took a while, though.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat took forever, that game,\u201d manager Alex Cora said. \u201cThere was a lot of traffic but at the end we were able to get 27 outs and we won the series.\u201d<\/p>\n
Houston took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Christian Walker\u2019s second home run in as many days, but the home team battled back immediately, took the lead in the third, and never looked back.<\/p>\n
Romy Gonzalez thought he had a leadoff double on Astros starter Colton Gordon\u2019s first pitch of the game, but the ball had ricocheted off the top of the Green Monster. Home run.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was kind of upset,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cI was telling all the boys I was hitting a home run first pitch today, and when the ball bounced back I\u2019m like, no way, but I\u2019m glad it was a homer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gonzalez\u2019s first career leadoff bomb barely cleared the line. Trevor Story\u2019s and Abraham Toro\u2019s two-run homers in the third and fourth, respectively, were no-doubters. Story\u2019s bounced off the top of the Plymouth Rock sign atop the Monster, and backward to Lansdowne Street. Toro\u2019s wasn\u2019t far behind; it soared to the very back of the Monster seats.<\/p>\n
The Astros out-hit their hosts 14-10 but had difficulty following through. They left at least one man on base in all but the fourth inning, and finished the evening 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position and a whopping 14 men left on base.<\/p>\n
Walker Buehler wove in and out of traffic for 4.1 innings, but managed a much cleaner getaway thanks to his teammates. He yielded three earned runs on nine hits, walked three and didn\u2019t strike out a single batter.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of hits, a lot of pitches in the middle,\u201d manager Alex Cora assessed. \u201cWe got to keep working. This guy\u2019s too important for us, too important for us. And he knows he\u2019s better than this, we know he\u2019s better than this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boston defense turned two double plays during his start, cleaning the diamond for him in the second and fourth.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot good. Definitely not good,\u201d Buehler assessed. \u201cI feel like I got in a decent little rhythm there in the middle but I just couldn\u2019t make the big pitch with two strikes to even get a strikeout, let alone kind of get us through the game the way I needed to.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut that\u2019s why it\u2019s so fun to be on a team like this that scores early, scores often, and gets you a lead that I can kind of dilly-dally out there for a while and whatever, and great bullpen can come in and finish it all for us\u2026 Yeah, it\u2019s just inconsistent and frustrating, but I like winning (as a team) more than I like winning myself, honestly. I think being a part of a team like this is special, especially that it kind of hasn\u2019t been done like this in a while here. I just would like to contribute.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buehler ultimately pitched deeper than Gordon, who was unable to record an out in the fifth inning. Roman Anthony\u2019s leadoff single prompted the first Astros pitching change of the day. Gordon exited charged with six earned runs on seven hits and one walk, with six strikeouts, a hit batsman, and three home runs.<\/p>\n
Boston Red Sox pitcher Jordan Hicks screams after the final out of the seventh with the bases loaded. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill\/Boston Herald)<\/p>\n
With Gordon out of the game, the Boston bats went quickly and quietly for nearly the entire remainder of the game. In the fifth, former Red Sox arm Kaleb Ort began a stretch in which the Astros retired eight of nine men and didn\u2019t allow a hit until Rob Refsnyder and Story roped back-to-back doubles with two outs in the seventh.<\/p>\n
Justin Wilson relieved Buehler and set the tone for the bullpen. The veteran lefty inherited two baserunners from the Sox starter, and responded with a pair of quick strikeouts to end the inning.<\/p>\n
Steven Matz pitched a scoreless sixth inning for his Red Sox debut, and earned the adoration of the Fenway Faithful when he punched out Astros leadoff man Jose Altuve on three pitches in the sixth inning.<\/p>\n
Garrett Whitlock worked around traffic in his scoreless seventh inning of work, as did Jordan Hicks, who loaded the bases in the eighth. The sold-out crowd rose as Carlos Correa came to the plate, and they screamed in jubilation as Hicks struck him out looking.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe crowd was rockin\u2019, just a beautiful day here at Fenway,\u201d said Story. \u201cIt\u2019s such a home field advantage. You can feel the place shakin\u2019, man. It causes a lot of stress for the other team, I know that from playing here as a visitor. It\u2019s amazing, man, and when we get it like this and the boys are playing well and we\u2019re into August, that\u2019s the type of baseball you want to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Jorge Alcala couldn\u2019t finish the ninth, Cora brought in his closer. Once again, Aroldis Chapman slammed the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I feel it\u2019s different than last year: the bullpen is in good shape,\u201d Cora said. \u201cLast year around this time, (Chris Martin) was down, Kenley (Jansen) missed a series in Colorado, he never bounced back from that, and (Justin) Slaten was down, too. This year we\u2019re deeper, we have better fastballs than in the past, and the guys are doing an amazing job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something else is different about these Red Sox, too. With ever-changing lineups and someone new coming up clutch in any given game, their brand of unpredictable is baffling opponents on a regular basis.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re playing with joy,\u201d Cora said. \u201cWe\u2019re having fun running the bases and putting pressure on the opposition.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re having fun moving the pieces, trying to win as many games as possible, and I love the fact that people are enjoying this,\u201d Cora continued. \u201cIt\u2019s great. Shoot, you know, it\u2019s fun. It\u2019s a packed house. Last weekend (with the Dodgers) was tough. It felt like we were in LA, but this weekend, usually (Astros) bring a lot of people, and it\u2019s been loud for us\u2026 This town, they love the Red Sox, and they\u2019re showing up, and you can feel it in the city, you can feel it at Fenway, and we just got to continue to do the things that we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Benches clear but no brawl<\/p>\n
After Story\u2019s RBI double in the seventh, Astros reliever Hector Neris intentionally balked him to third base. The Astros reliever appeared to believe the Red Sox were stealing signs from the bases, which Major League Baseball allows so as long as teams don\u2019t use electronics (something both clubs have been investigated and disciplined for in the last half-decade).<\/p>\n
\u201cNot much, honestly,\u201d Story said of what was going through his mind on the bases. \u201cIf he wanted to balk me over, that\u2019s fine. One step closer to home. But yeah, I feel like we put some good at-bats together there late in the game and they didn\u2019t like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neris was able to get out of the inning without allowing another run, but as he walked back to the Astros dugout, he shouted at Red Sox third base coach Kyle Hudson.<\/p>\n
Hudson laughed at the incensed pitcher, but the benches and bullpens cleared nonetheless.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou gotta ask Neris\u201d was all Cora would say postgame.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I\u2019m not sure,\u201d said Story. \u201cI was walking back to the dugout and then I just saw everyone kind of come out at that point. So yeah, I think you\u2019ll have to ask them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing,\u201d Neris told reporters in the visitor\u2019s clubhouse. \u201cIt\u2019s part of the game. Something funny.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked if he thought the Red Sox were stealing signs, Neris smiled and said, \u201cMaybe. Maybe yes, maybe no.\u201d<\/p>\n
A force to be reckoned with<\/p>\n
Between Gonzalez and Refsnyder, the Red Sox have two of the best lefty killers in the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just mashes, man,\u201d Story said of Gonzalez. \u201cHe takes care of lefties, him and Ref, like I\u2019ve never seen before. They\u2019re a force for us, man.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wild and free<\/p>\n
The Red Sox are 61-51, a season-high 10 games over .500. They\u2019ve won six of their last seven games, seven of their last nine, and are 11-1 in their last 12 home games. They\u2019re also 42-17 all-time in their yellow City Connect uniforms.<\/p>\n
With their win and the Yankees\u2019 loss \u2013 shutout 2-0 by the Marlins \u2013 on Saturday, Boston also overtook their New York rivals in the division and Wild Card standings; the Red Sox are now second in the American League East and hold the top AL Wild Card.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is kind of that final stretch,\u201d Story said. \u201cEveryone calls it the dog days of August, but this is the final push to really show what you\u2019re about, and we\u2019re embracing that. We\u2019re embracing all the adversity, and I think that\u2019s where the good teams show up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Originally Published: August 2, 2025 at 6:13 PM EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Against some teams, a four-run lead seems like enough. The Astros aren\u2019t typically one of those teams, but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":221652,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2389],"tags":[2047,858,42,5,48,10267,1350,139,54,3211,4,1083,1035,115],"class_list":{"0":"post-221651","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston-astros","8":"tag-abraham-toro","9":"tag-alex-cora","10":"tag-astros","11":"tag-baseball","12":"tag-boston-red-sox","13":"tag-colton-gordon","14":"tag-fenway-park","15":"tag-houston","16":"tag-houston-astros","17":"tag-houstonastros","18":"tag-mlb","19":"tag-romy-gonzalez","20":"tag-trevor-story","21":"tag-walker-buehler"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/114962875451531791","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221651\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}