Spencer Arrighetti did his part. So did Christian Walker—right up until a frightening moment in the ninth inning that cast a shadow over an otherwise needed Houston Astros victory.
The Astros beat the Boston Red Sox 6-3 Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park, evening the series at one game apiece and moving to 13-21 on the season. Arrighetti delivered five innings of one-run ball, Walker drove in two runs and homered before exiting after being struck on the helmet by a pitch in the ninth, and Brice Matthews continued his road-trip surge with a three-run homer that broke the game open.
Arrighetti was far from sharp—he walked five and navigated ten baserunners across five innings—but he was effective when it counted. Two double-play groundballs helped him escape jams, and he allowed just one run despite at least one baserunner in four of his five frames. He lowered his ERA to 1.96, the best among active Astros starters. He improves to 4-0 on the season.
The Astros staked him to a quick lead in the first when Correa walked, moved to second on a passed ball, and scored on a Walker single. The offense broke through for four more in the fourth. Walker singled, Altuve doubled, and Matthews drove a 1-1 fastball from Early 406 feet over the Green Monster for a three-run homer. Correa followed with an RBI single to make it 5-0. Walker added a solo homer off Ryan Watson in the fifth to push the lead to 6-0.
Matthews’ homer was the latest in a string of big road performances. He has hit safely in all five games of the current road trip and owns an 11-for-35 line away from Daikin Park this season against a 2-for-27 mark at home.
The Astros’ defense was equally vital. Matthews made a highlight-reel catch in center field in the fifth to preserve the lead. Cam Smith speared a Marcelo Mayer liner in the sixth, and Correa caught Ceddanne Rafaela’s line drive diving to his backhand moments later.
The seventh inning got messy. Enyel De Los Santos and Bennett Sousa combined to allow two runs and load the bases before Kai-Wei Teng came on and struck out Rafaela on a called third strike to end the threat. Teng returned for a clean eighth before Bryan King worked a scoreless ninth for his first save.
Walker’s night ended in that ninth when Tyler Samaniego’s fastball struck him on the helmet. He underwent concussion tests after the game but said he expects to be available Sunday.
“That’s always not a great situation, but I’m good, I feel OK,” Walker said. “I think the helmet took most of it and turning away from it hopefully made it more of a glancing blow than a straight impact.”
Four of the Astros’ six wins since April 14 have come with Arrighetti on the mound. Sunday’s series finale will determine whether Houston can take the series before heading home.
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