Houston Astros go down 7-2 to Boston Red Sox as Philip Humber gets the rough end yet again
The road stint for the Houston Astros did not get off to a flying start as they went 7-2 down against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Thursday, April 25, 2013. This was the first of seven games that the Astros will be playing on this away trip.
The real point of concern for the Astros is their starting pitcher Philip Humber who recorded his fifth loss of the season. Clay Buchholz, his opposing number from the Red Sox, posted his fifth win of the season.
The 30-year-old improved from his unfinished eight runs first inning against the Cleveland Indians a few days back but giving away seven runs in less than five innings and surrendering 10 hits is still not enough by Major League standards.
Four runs were surrendered in the bottom of the first and Red Sox never lost control of the game after that. The Astros were able to cut the lead to half by the middle of the third before the Red Sox scored another run in the bottom of the innings.
Their fate eventually was sealed as the Boston ballclub added two more runs in the fifth. The bullpen for the Astros only surrendered one hit and did not give any runs. The batters were unable to make a comeback though from the five run deficit.
Manager Bo Porter feels that falling behind early in the game is the real issue. He is well aware of the pitching quality that the Red Sox possess and one can simply not afford to go down early. He hoped that his pitchers can get the first few innings out
of the way quickly and without much damage in coming games.
"It's definitely not fun," Porter said. "It's hard when you fall behind early in a game against one of the better pitchers in our league, and when you're on the road you're fighting an uphill battle. It would be much more efficient to get a quick 1-2-3 inning
and get back into the dugout."
Jason Castro, the catcher for the Houston ballclub, felt that Philip is someone who gives it his all and tries his best. However, he is going through a phase where there are some issues that are arriving and there is not much more to it than that.
"It's tough," Castro said."He's one of those guys who's going to give you everything he's got when he's out there. To see him kind of go through what he's going through right now, it's tough to see. He's trying to sift through some mechanical things right
now, and I really think that's all it is."
The Houston Astros currently stand at a 7-15 win-loss record. They will ideally be looking to improve their pitching and have a chance at winning a few games in the away series.
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