Game 5: Red Sox at Astros lineups and notes as Boston looks to stem three-game losing streak
Brayan Bello will take the ball for the Red Sox on Tuesday for his first start of the season. The righthander is 1-1 with a 2.19 ERA in three appearances (two starts) against Houston.
The Astros will turn to top starter Hunter Brown, who was an All-Star last year and finished third in AL Cy Young voting behind Garrett Crochet and Tigers star Tarik Skubal. Brown is 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA in three starts against Boston.
Get Starting Point
First pitch is set for 8:10 p.m. Eastern in Houston and on NESN. Here’s a preview.
RED SOX (1-3): Anthony LF, Story SS, Yoshida DH, Contreras 1B, Abreu RF, Monasterio 3B, Mayer 2B, Wong C, Rafaela CF
Pitching: RHP Brayan Bello
ASTROS (3-2): Pena SS, Alvarez DH, Altuve 2B, Correa 3B, Walker 1B, Loperfido LF, Smith RF, Diaz C, Meyers CF
Pitching: RHP Hunter Brown (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Time: 8:10 p.m.
TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7
Red Sox vs. Brown: Wilyer Abreu 2-6, Roman Anthony 1-6, Willson Contreras 0-3, Jarren Duran 1-7, Isiah Kiner-Falefa 1-3, Carlos Narváez 0-2, Ceddanne Rafaela 3-8, Trevor Story 1-5, Connor Wong 2-5, Masataka Yoshida 0-6
Astros vs. Bello: Nick Allen 1-5, Jose Altuve 1-6, Yordan Alvarez 3-5, Carlos Correa 0-5, Yainer Diaz 1-5, Joey Loperfido 0-3, Isaac Paredes 2-7, Jeremy Peña 1-4, Christian Vázquez 0-1
Stat of the day: Caleb Durbin has started the season 0 for 14 at the plate.
Notes: Ranger Suarez allowed four earned runs on seven hits in 4 ⅓ innings in his Red Sox debut. “Obviously, very nice to be able to make my debut with the team,” Suarez said through an interpreter. “Obviously, not happy about the outing that I had.” … Johan Oviedo, pitching in relief of Suarez, struggled just as greatly, allowing four runs on six hits in three innings. Most worryingly, his fastball velocity was down 2.5 miles per hour from last season. “I’m surprised, probably like everyone else,” he said. “To be honest, I don’t know what’s going on right now.” … McCullers shined on Monday, which was unexpected considering his struggles in recent years. The righthander missed all of 2023 and 2024 with injuries and posted a 6.51 ERA in his return in 2025. “He’s a guy that I always liked, and the fact that he’s pitching, it means the world,” Alex Cora said. … Boston’s top four bats of Roman Anthony, Trevor Story, Jarren Duran, and Willson Contreras combined to go 1 for 15 with eight strikeouts.
Amin Touri can be reached at [email protected].
