Crochet — who dropped to 13-5 with a 2.48 ERA in 24 starts — typically goes heavy with his fastball the first time through the lineup. He altered his approach slightly because of Houston’s “aggressive tendencies” that he noticed during the scouting process. So he mixed in more secondary pitches early.

The Red Sox lost their third straight game to drop to 65-55 overall and 26-33 on the road. The Astros improved to 67-52.

Crochet was pummeled for five runs in four innings, his shortest outing with the Red Sox, and neither Bregman's two-run homer, nor a four-run seventh-inning rally, were enough.