Red Sox recall Michael Chavis from Triple-A Worcester, designate Ryan Weber for assignment

Before wrapping up their four-game series against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park on Monday night, the Red Sox recalled infielder Michael Chavis from Triple-A Worcester.

In a corresponding move, right-hander Ryan Weber was designated for assignment in order to make room for Chavis on the Sox’ 26-man roster, Sox manager Alex Cora announced.

Chavis will be called up to Boston for the third time this season, most recently spending a little more than two weeks with the big-league club last month.

In the 10 games he got into during that stretch, the 25-year-old slashed .273/.273/.485 with four doubles, one home run, two RBI, six runs scored, zero walks, and 13 strikeouts over 33 plate appearances while primarily playing second base.

With Triple-A Worcester, Chavis has put up similar numbers, albeit over a larger sample size.

Narrowing it down to just what he has done since being optioned on May 24, the right-handed hitter owns a slash line of .275/.338/.420 (104 wRC+) to go along with one double, three homers, 12 runs driven in, 13 runs scored, six walks, 21 strikeouts, and one stolen base over his last 17 games (69 plate appearances) for the WooSox.

Weber, meanwhile, was designated for assignment one day after being selected from Worcester and getting absolutely shelled in his 2021 debut against Toronto on Sunday.

Working in relief of starter Martin Perez, the 30-year-old hurler surrendered a whopping 11 runs — all of which were earned — on 13 hits, two walks, seven strikeouts, and four home runs over 5 2/3 innings pitched.

The Red Sox will have the next seven days to either trade, release, or waive Weber.

Assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers, it seems likely that the veteran righy would be outrighted back to Worcester, where he put up a 4.63 ERA in seven outings (six starts) and 35 innings pitched this year prior to getting promoted over the weekend.

It should be noted that the move to designate Weber also opens up a spot on Boston’s 40-man roster, so that may be something to monitor in the coming days.

(Picture of Michael Chavis: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Nick Yorke, top Red Sox prospect, is having torrid month of June (.382/.462/.559) with Low-A Salem

Red Sox infield prospect Nick Yorke moved up to the leadoff spot for the first time in his professional career on Sunday, and the move yielded some pretty encouraging results.

Batting leadoff for Low-A Salem in their series finale against the Fredericksburg Nationals at Salem Memorial Ballpark, Yorke went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double, an RBI, and two stolen bases while scoring three of his team’s five runs in what would turn out to be a 5-0 victory for the Red Sox.

Matched up against Nationals right-hander Karlo Seijas to begin things on Sunday, the right-handed hitting Yorke led off the bottom of the first by reaching base on an infield single. He stole second base moments later and eventually came into score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jaxx Groshans.

In the third inning, Yorke took advantage of a one-out triple from Salem’s No. 9 hitter, Dean Miller, and drove the runner in from third on a hard-hit RBI double to the opposite field.

Yorke’s stay on second base did not last long, however, as he successfully stole third and was later driven in on a run-scoring single from Groshans.

Fast forward to the fifth, and Yorke again got things started with a bang, this time leading off the frame with a single to right that would allow him to score on an RBI groundout courtesy of Stephen Scott that same inning.

By going 3-for-4 (with a seventh-inning lineout) on Sunday, Yorke raised his batting average on the season to .250 (29-for-116), which is the highest it has been since May 6 (.273).

The fact that the 19-year-old turned in a three-hit performance on Sunday is just the latest example of how Boston’s No. 9 prospect (according to Baseball America) has adjusted to the professional game since making his debut with Salem earlier this spring.

After slashing .195/.264/.228 with two doubles, nine runs, nine RBI, eight walks, 21 strikeouts, and three stolen bases over 21 games in the month of May, Yorke has turned things around for the better a few weeks into June.

Following Sunday’s solid showing, the California native is now hitting a scorching .382/.462/.559 to go along with four doubles, one triple, one RBI, five walks, four strikeouts, and four stolen bases in 10 games (39 plate appearances) so far this month.

Among the top hitters in the Low-A East with at least 30 at-bats this month, Yorke ranks third in batting average, fourth in on-base percentage, sixth in slugging percentage, fourth in OPS (1.021), and seventh in stolen bases, per MiLB.com.

Yorke, who has primarily been playing second base this season, was originally selected by the Red Sox with the 17th overall pick in last year’s amateur draft out of Archbishop Mitty High School (San Jose, Calif).

While the pick at the time was perceived as a surprising one considering where different industry publications had Yorke ranked on their draft boards as well as his commitment to the University of Arizona, the Red Sox viewed the prep infielder as a promising prospect with a legitimate — if not elite — hit tool for his age.

As the youngest player currently at Salem, Yorke has certainly been through his ups and downs while getting his first taste of life as a professional baseball player.

That being said, Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and Co. believed the 6-foot, 200 pounder could handle the assignment after the way he turned heads at the alternate training site and fall instructional league last year as well as at major-league spring training this year.

It’s still only been just over a month of minor-league baseball, but at the moment, Yorke appears to be making the necessary adjustments to back up why the Red Sox are just so high on him.

(Picture of Nick Yorke: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox pitchers serve up 8 homers in historic blowout 18-4 loss to Blue Jays

The vibes were immaculate at Fenway Park on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, those vibes were not of the feel-good variety, and instead reminiscent of what the team endured in 2020.

Sox pitchers — including two position players — combined to give up eight home runs in a blowout 18-4 pounding at the hands of the Blue Jays.

With the defeat, their second straight to Toronto, Boston falls to 39-27 on the season while dropping three full games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the American League East.

A historic day at Fenway

The eight homers Red Sox pitchers surrendered on Sunday are the most the team has ever given up in a single game in franchise history.

Perez gets rocked in another short outing

Martin Perez made his 13th start of the season for Boston on Sunday, fresh off what was his shortest outing of the year in his last time out against the Astros.

This time around, Perez was unable to turn the page, and he instead got bombarded in yet another brief showing on the mound.

Over just 1 1/3 innings of work, the veteran left-hander yielded five runs — all of which were earned — on six hits, one walk, and zero strikeouts on the afternoon.

Three of the six hits Perez gave up to the Jays went over the fence, with Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. crushing a three-run and solo homer in the first, and Marcus Semien going yard with one out in the second, at which point the lefty’s day came to a quick close.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 38 (22 strikes), the 30-year-old hurler ultimately fell to 4-4 on the year while inflating his ERA to 4.52. He has allowed a total of 11 runs over his last two starts, but will look to turn things around in his next start against the Royals in Kansas City on Saturday.

Weber takes one for the team

In relief of Perez, Ryan Weber was deployed sooner than he likely expected with just one out in the top of the second.

Just selected from Triple-A Worcester, Weber was called up in the event that the Red Sox would need a long reliever out of the bullpen on Sunday, and that they did.

While he did provide 5 2/3 innings of relief in his 2021 debut, the right-hander was shelled for 11 earned runs on 13 hits and two walks to go along with seven strikeouts.

Nine of the 11 runs Weber surrendered came by way of the home run ball, with Teoscar Hernandez, Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggo, and Vladimir Guerror Jr. taking the righy deep over the course of his 95-pitch outing.

Position players get in on the action

Trailing 16-2 going into the eighth inning, Red Sox manager Alex Cora opted to preserve his bullpen and instead turned to Marwin Gonzalez to pitch.

Making his first career appearance as a pitcher, the versatile Gonzalez turned in the only 1-2-3 inning the Sox enjoyed all day by retiring Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Cavan Biggio, and Riley Adams in order.

Of the 11 pitches Gonzalez needed to get through the scoreless frame, six were strikes. He also showed off a 90 mph cutter in addition to a mid-40s curveball.

Christian Arroyo, meanwhile, got the call for the ninth inning in what was also his big-league debut on the mound. The right-hander served up a two-run home run to Rowdy Tellez, which put Toronto up 18-4.

Another quietish day for the Sox lineup

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup has typically found success this season when scoring four-plus runs. But that was not the case against the Blue Jays on Sunday.

Matched up against Toronto left-hander Robbie Ray, Xander Bogaerts and Enrique Hernandez provided some early offense with a solo home run and two-run double, respectively.

Bobby Dalbec stayed hot by mashing his eighth homer of the season to lead off things in the eighth, but at that point the Sox’ deficit was already too large to mount a comeback.

Next up: Looking to salvage a series split

Right-haner Nathan Eovaldi will take the hill for the Red Sox on Monday night as the club looks to bounce back and settle for a four-game series split with the Blue Jays.

Toronto will send rookie righty Alek Manoah as they look for a series win.

First pitch Monday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Kevin Plawecki and Ryan Weber: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox select Ryan Weber, designate Brandon Brennan for assignment

Before taking on the Blue Jays in the third game of a four-game series at Fenway Park on Sunday afternoon, the Red Sox selected the contract of right-hander Ryan Weber from Triple-A Worcester and added him to the major-league roster.

In a corresponding move, fellow right-hander Brandon Brennan was designated for assignment, the club announced earlier Sunday morning.

Weber, 30, re-joins the Sox’ 40-man roster after being designated and outrighted to Triple-A Worcester last November.

In seven appearances (six starts) with the WooSox this season, the veteran hurler posted a 4.63 ERA and 3.98 xFIP to go along with 10 walks and 33 strikeouts over 35 innings of work.

Weber’s last start for Worcester came on June 8, an outing in which he pitched well against the Syracuse Mets by only allowing two runs in seven innings, so he would be in line to start once again on Sunday.

“It was his spot in the rotation (for Worcester) and he can give us multiple innings,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “If something happens with (Sunday’s starter) Martín (Pérez), we were running short on innings. So he’ll be a guy who can give us multiple innings.”

Originally signing a minor-league pact with Boston in December 2018, Weber has put up a 4.73 ERA over 35 appearances (eight starts) and 83 2/3 innings pitched in parts of two seasons with the Red Sox.

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Brandon Brennan, meanwhile, was designated for assignment despite the fact that he does have minor-league options remaining.

The 29-year-old was called up from Triple-A Worcester this past Thursday. He tossed three scoreless innings while scattering three hits, two walks, and one strikeout in his lone appearance out of the Boston bullpen against Toronto on Saturday.

The Red Sox will have seven days to either trade, release, or waive Brennan, who was claimed off waivers from the Mariners last month.

(Picture of Ryan Weber: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Red Sox pitching prospect Brayan Bello allows 1 run over 4-plus innings in debut for Double-A Portland

Red Sox pitching prospect Brayan Bello’s Double-A debut on Saturday night did not disappoint.

After getting promoted from High-A Greenville to Double-A Portland this past Tuesday, Bello made his first start of the year for the Sea Dogs at Hadlock Field, facing off against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (the Double-A affiliate of the Blue Jays).

Over four-plus innings of work, the young right-hander allowed just one earned run on five hits and two walks to go along with two strikeouts on the night.

While he did not have the benefit of a clean inning, Bello did do an effective job of maneuvering his way around traffic on the base paths, as he stranded five runners on base and also faced the minimum in the fourth thanks to inducing a 6-4-3 double play.

Both walks issued by Bello came against the first two — and subsequently final two — batters he faced in the top half of the fifth, at which point his outing came to a close.

One of those he walked would come into score on a sacrifice fly off Sea Dogs reliever Joan Martinez later in the inning, which is how he was charged with that lone run.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 78 (46 strikes), the righty was sitting between 96-97 mph with his fastball according to those who were in attendance for his start in Portland.

Bello, who turned 22 last month, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 20 prospect in Boston’s farm system, ranking ninth among pitchers in the organization.

The 6-foot-1, 170 pound hurler began his 2021 season in Greenville, where he posted a a 2.27 ERA and 2.60 xFIP to go along with 45 strikeouts to just seven walks over six starts and 31 2/3 innings pitched with the Drive.

Per his SoxProspects.com scouting report, Bello — who was a standout at fall instructs last year — throws from a mid-three-quarters arm slot and operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of a fastball, a changeup, and a slider.

On the surface, the fact that the Dominican native only went four-plus innings into his first start at a new level may seem underwhelming, but as noted by SoxProspects.com’s Chris Hatfield, “the jump from High-A to Double-A is often regarded as the hardest in the minor leagues.”

With that thought in mind, that Bello did what he did on Saturday should be considered a positive more than anything else.

As he prepares for his next outing with the Sea Dogs, it’s important to remember how pivotal the 2021 campaign is for Bello and those in and outside of the Red Sox organization who are and will be evaluating him this summer.

That being the case because the former international signee can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time in his professional career this winter if he is not added to Boston’s 40-man roster by the November 20 deadline.

Something to certainly keep in mind there.

(Picture of Brayan Bello: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Nick Pivetta gets knocked around, gives up 4 homers as Red Sox fall to Blue Jays, 7-2

The Red Sox’ starting rotation has not been particularly sharp as of late, and that recent trend continued in a 7-2 loss at the hands of the Blue Jays at Fenway Park on Saturday.

With the defeat, the Sox fall to 39-26 on the season and drop to two full games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the American League East.

Coming into play on Saturday, Boston starters owned a cumulative ERA of 7.99 over the team’s last seven games, the second-highest mark in baseball over that span according to FanGraphs.

Nick Pivetta made his 13th start of the season for the Sox on Saturday, and he only saw that 7.99 starters ERA jump up to 8.36 in the last eight games by surrendering a season-high six runs — all of which were earned — on six hits and two walks to go along with four strikeouts over five innings of work.

Four of the six hits Pivetta gave up were home runs, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crushing a two-run homer off the right-hander in the first inning and Cavan Biggo, Marcus Semien, and Bo Bichette each going deep in the top half of the fifth.

It’s fair to say that Pivetta did get blitzed in his fifth and final frame of work, but he did manage to sit down the last three hitters he faced in order.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 96 (60 strikes), the 28-year-old hurler later fell to 6-2 on the season while inflating his own ERA up to 4.28. His next start should come against the Royals in Kansas City on Friday.

Brennan’s Red Sox debut

In relief of Pivetta, Brandon Brennan got the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen for what was his team debut in the sixth inning.

Brennan, who was claimed off waivers from the Mariners in May and called up from Triple-A Worcester on Thursday, created a bit of a jam for himself by loading the bases on the first three Blue Jays hitters he faced.

Put in a tough spot immediately, the 29-year-old got Reese McGuire to fan on five pitches before getting Marcus Semien to ground into an inning-ending 5-3 double play with some help from third baseman Rafael Devers.

From there, Brennan maneuvered his way around two more walks en route to tossing two more scoreless innings of relief.

Brandon Workman, meanwhile, served up another solo shot to McGuire in the ninth, which put Toronto up 7-2.

Red Sox’ offensive woes

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup was matched up against a familiar foe in Blue Jays left-hander Steven Matz, who they got to for five runs the last time they saw him in Dunedin, Fla. back on May 20.

This time around, however, Matz proved to be a much tougher opponent, as it took the Sox until the sixth inning to push anything across against the veteran southpaw, though they certainly had their chances.

Christian Vazquez ripped an RBI single off Matz to score Rafael Devers from second with two outs in their half of the sixth, and that would prove to be all the Sox could do against the Blue Jays starter.

In addition to scoring a run, Devers collected his 49th RBI of the season by plating J.D. Martinez on a run-scoring single off Toronto reliever Rafael Dolis in the eighth inning, which cut the Sox’ deficit to four runs at 6-2.

Bobby Dalbec also hit his second triple of the year earlier in the fifth. All in all, though, Boston finished the day having gone 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position while leaving seven on base as a team.

A scary moment for Hernandez

Enrique Hernandez was struck in the helmet by a 96 mph fastball from Blue Jays reliever Anthony Castro during his seventh inning at-bat.

The ball glanced off the protective jaw flap of Hernandez’s helmet, and the center fielder was able to remain in the game.

Next up: Perez vs. Ray

Sunday afternoon’s starting pitching matchup between the Red Sox and Blue Jays will feature a pair of veteran left-handers going at it, with Martin Perez getting the ball for Boston and Robbie Ray doing the same for Toronto.

First pitch Sunday, the third game of this four-game set, is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. eastern time on Sunday.

(Picture of Nick Pivetta: Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)

Christian Arroyo ties it and Alex Verdugo walks it off as Red Sox rally to defeat Blue Jays, 6-5

The Red Sox were trailing the Blue Jays for the majority of the night on Friday, yet still found a way to battle their way back from a 5-1 deficit for another comeback victory at Fenway Park.

For the second night in a row, Christian Arroyo came through in the clutch with a game-tying solo home run off Blue Jays reliever Carl Edwards Jr. to knot things up at five runs a piece.

In the ninth, Enrique Hernandez led things off against Jays closer Rafael Dolis by reaching first base on a throwing error committed by shortstop Bo Bichette, and then advanced to second — into scoring position — because of Toronto’s mistake.

The speedy Danny Santana pinch-ran for Hernandez as he represented the winning run, though he did not stick at second base for long.

That being the case because Alex Verdugo laced an RBI single off the Green Monster to score Santana and walk things off for the Sox in what would go down as a 6-5 win over the Blue Jays.

Verdugo’s first walk-off hit in a Red Sox uniform sealed Boston’s 23rd come-from-behind victory of the season, which is the most in the major-leagues.

With the win, the Sox improve to 39-25 (19-15 at home) on the year. They remain a game back of the Rays for first place in the American League East.

Richards gets off to rocky start, but settles in

Garrett Richards made his 13th start of the season for Boston to begin things on Friday.

The right-hander labored through his first two innings of work — and surrendered three runs as a result — but was able to pitch into the sixth before his day ended.

After throwing 64 pitches to record six outs while yielding a healthy amout of hard contact, Richards settled in nicely, stringing together three straight scoreless frames leading up to the sixth, at which point he gave up a one-out single to Marcus Semien, and that was that.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 101 (66 strikes) to eclipse the century mark for the first time this season, the 33-year-old hurler also allowed a season-high 11 hits. His next start should come against the Braves on Wednesday.

Sawamura serves up moonshot to Vlad Jr.

In relief of Richards, Hirokazu Sawamura got the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen, and he allowed the lone runner he inherited to score by serving up a towering 443-foot two-run homer to the vaunted Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Guerrero Jr.’s blast gave the Blue Jays a 5-1 lead and officially closed the book on Richards’ night as the Sox starter wound up getting charged with four earned runs to raise his ERA on the season to 4.09. Sawamura was able to get out of the sixth.

Taylor bails out Workman

From there, Brandon Workman only managed to retire one of the three hitters he faced in the seventh, which led Red Sox manager Alex Cora to deploy Josh Taylor.

Taylor fanned the only two Blue Jays he faced (Cavan Biggio, Riley Adams), to strand a pair of runners in scoring position and extend his scoreless appearances streak to 17 consecutive games.

Whitlock closes it out

Garrett Whitlock took over in the eighth, maneuvered his way around a leadoff single in his first inning of work, and also stranded the potential go-ahead runs by leaving the bases loaded in a scoreless top half of the ninth. The right-hander would earn his second winning decision of the season.

Dalbec’s homer gets scoring started for Sox

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup was matched up against another veteran right-hander in the form of Blue Jays starter Ross Stripling.

Bobby Dalbec kicked off the scoring for the Sox against Stripling by crushing his seventh home run of the season — a 441-foot solo shot to dead center field — to cut Toronto’s lead down to two runs at 3-1.

Three-run sixth with a side of wildness

Fast forward to the sixth, and the Red Sox knocked Stripling out of this contest when Hunter Renfroe drove in Alex Verdugo on a two-out RBI single to center field and Christian Vazquez followed with a single of his own.

Blue Jays reliever Tyler Chatwood did not fare much better, as he plunked Christian Arroyo to load the bases, walked in a run by issuing a free pass to Marwin Gonzalez, and threw a wild pitch that allowed Vazquez to score from third to trim the deficit to one run. 5-4.

Verdugo walks it off

With contributions from the likes of Garrett Whitlock and Christian Arroyo in the eighth and ninth innings, Alex Verdugo sent the Fenway faithful into a frenzy with a game-sealing walk-off single in the bottom half of the ninth.

It should be noted that Verdugo played a quality left field on Friday night as well.

Next up: Matz vs. Pivetta

Saturday’s starting pitching matchup between the Blue Jays and Red Sox will feature a pair of former National League East foes going at it.

Ex-Mets left-hander Steven Matz will be getting the start for Toronto, and he will be opposed by ex-Phillies right-hander Nick Pivetta getting the start for Boston.

First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Alex Verdugo and Christian Arroyo: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox injuries: Xander Bogaerts scratched from Friday’s lineup due to sore left knee

Xander Bogaerts was scratched from the Red Sox’ starting lineup against the Blue Jays on Friday night due to a sore left knee.

Bogaerts was originally slated to start at shortstop and bat cleanup at Fenway Park for the first of four against Toronto on Friday, but Red Sox manager Alex Cora changed things up about an hour and a half before first pitch.

When speaking with NESN’s Tom Caron pregame, Cora explained that Bogaerts’ left knee was a feeling “a little bit sore” after diving for an Alex Bregman base hit in the third inning of Thursday night’s 12-8 win over the Astros.

The 28-year-old was able to remain in for the rest of the contest and even went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two runs scored in Boston’s rollercoaster come-from-behind victory.

The hope now, per Cora, is that Bogaerts will only be out of action for two days before being cleared to return to the Sox lineup on Sunday.

On the 2021 campaign as a whole, the star shortstop comes into play Friday slashing an astute .324/.382/.547 to go along with 11 home runs and 38 RBI over 60 games played.

In Bogaerts’ place, the switch-hitting Marwin Gonzalez will start at shortstop and bat eighth in Friday night’s series opener. Rafael Devers moves up the cleanup spot.

First pitch Friday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

New Podding the Red Sox episode: MassLive.com’s Chris Mason joins the show

On this week’s installment of Podding the Red Sox: A BloggingtheRedSox.com Podcast, I am joined by Chris Mason, who covers the New England Patriots for MassLive.com.

Among the topics Chris and I discussed were how how he got into sports journalism at a young age, how it was to go from covering the Red Sox for a newspaper to covering the Patriots for MassLive, his impressions of the 2021 Red Sox so far, his predictions for the 2021 Patriots, the key differences between the amenities at the Fenway Park and Gillette Stadium press boxes, and much more!

The episode is available to listen to on iTunes and Spotify, among other platforms.

Thanks to Chris for taking some time out of his Friday to have a conversation with me.

You can follow Chris on Twitter (@ByChrisMason) by clicking here. You can check out his Patriots coverage for MassLive.com by clicking here.

Thank you for listening and we will see you next time! Please make sure to subscribe and leave a five-star review if you can!

(Picture of Fenway Park: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Christian Arroyo, Red Sox outslug Astros in action-packed 12-8 victory to avoid sweep

When playing the same team seven times within a 10-day span, some wild things are bound to happen, as was the case between the Red Sox and Astros at Fenway Park on Thursday night.

Boston was able to come away with a hard-fought, action-packed 12-8 win over Houston to avoid a three-game sweep, but not before 25 hits and five lead changes were exchanged between both sides over the course of a contest that took nearly four hours to complete.

Rodriguez fails to get through five innings

Eduardo Rodriguez made his 12th start of the season for Boston on Thursday and had a relatively tough time of things against a team he has regularly struggled against.

Over just 4 2/3 innings of work, the left-hander surrendered six runs — all of which were earned — on six hits and three walks to go along with five strikeouts on the night.

The first of those six Astros runs came courtesy of a solo home run off the bat of Yuli Gurriel in the second inning. The next two came on a two-run double from Yordan Alvarez an inning later.

After settling into a bit of a groove and recording the first two outs of the top of the fifth, Rodriguez gave up a single to Alex Bregman and a six-pitch walk to Alvarez, which filled the bases for Houston and in turn marked the end of Rodriguez’s outing.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 106 (64 strikes), the 28-year-old hurler saw his ERA on the season inflate to 6.03 while taking home the no-decision. His next start should come against the Braves in Atlanta next Tuesday.

With his pitch count where it was at, Rodriguez got the hook from Red Sox manager Alex Cora in favor of Matt Andriese, who proceeded to walk in a run and serve up a bases-clearing, three-run double to Kyle Tucker to close the book on the starter’s night before getting out of the inning with his side now trailing 7-4.

Red Sox bullpen keeps Astros in check

From the sixth inning on, the Red Sox bullpen combined to allow just one more run to the Astros, with Jose Altuve taking Darwinzon Hernandez deep to left field to make it an 8-7 contest in the top half of the sixth.

Besides that, Adam Ottavino tossed a scoreless top of the seventh with the help of an unconventional, inning-ending 2-3-4 double play, Josh Taylor continued to impress with a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and Matt Barnes closed things out in the ninth to seal a 12-8 victory for the Sox.

Getting going against Greinke

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup was matched up against a tough opponent in Astros right-hander Zack Greinke.

A string of three straight one-out singles in the bottom of the second got the scoring started for the Sox, with Christian Vazquez plating Rafael Devers from third for their first run of the night.

Enrique Hernandez followed by drawing a bases-loaded walk, while J.D. Martinez crushed a solo homer — his 13th of the year — and Vazquez knocked in another run on an RBI single in the third inning to put Boston ahead, 4-3.

Arroyo answers the call

After falling behind by three runs in the top half of the fifth, the Red Sox were able to respond right away by punishing Astros reliever Brandon Bielak in their half of the frame.

Rafael Devers and Christian Vazquez both reached base on a pair of singles, which brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Christian Arroyo with two outs in the inning.

Arroyo came through in the clutch, as he demolished a hanging slider from Bielak and sent it flying over the Green Monster for his second big fly of the season — and his second against the Astros.

The 437-foot three-run shot knotted thing back up at seven runs a piece heading into the later innings.

Six-run sixth seals it

While the Astros briefly retook an 8-7 lead to begin things in the sixth, the Sox wasted no time in taking that lead back in the bottom half of the inning.

Enrique Hernandez led off with a double, advanced to third on an Alex Verdugo groundout, and scored on a J.D. Martinez sacrifice fly that was dropped by Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker. 8-8.

A pair of walks drawn by Xander Bogaerts and Hunter Renfroe filled the bases for Christian Vazquez, who added on to a productive night at the plate by getting plunked by Astros reliever Enoli Parades to bring across yet another run.

Christian Arroyo followed suit by also getting beaned with a pitch to drive in Xander Bogaerts from third, and the Red Sox had a 10-8 lead just like that.

Following an Astros pitching change that saw Brooks Raley take over for Parades, Bobby Dalbec all but put this one to bed when he drilled a 106 mph double off the left field wall and scored both Renfroe and Vazquez in the process of doing so.

That bit of added insurance gave the Red Sox a commanding 12-8 lead, which would go on to be Thursday’s final score. Boston is now 38-25 on the season.

Next up: Bring on the Blue Jays

After halting a mini two-game losing streak, the Red Sox will welcome the 31-29 Blue Jays into town for a four-game weekend series that begins on Friday night and wraps around to next Monday.

Right-hander Garrett Richards will get the start for Boston in the series opener, and he will be opposed by fellow righty Ross Striping for Toronto.

First pitch Friday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Christian Arroyo: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)