Red Sox at Astros lineups: Dirty Water > Clean Sweep

The Red Sox try to stay above water this afternoon in Houston as Martín Pérez looks to save our heroes from a four-game sweep (2:10 p.m., NESN).

Xander Bogaerts, currently mired in an 0-21 slump, says this is just the type of thing that happens to all teams, good or bad. Okay! But getting swept in four games is not what you want, and Alex Cora seems to think he knows why the Sox are struggling, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com:

“For how good Valdez was, we got pull-happy when we had pitches in certain counts,” Cora said. “That’s not working right now. It doesn’t work around the league and it doesn’t work for us. You’ve got to use the whole field. You’ve got to stay up the middle and the other way. When we’re really good, we do that.”

Can I just note for a second this is always the key to hitting and somehow people just forget, all the time? I’m not blaming them, but you find a team in a slump and they’re rarely if ever like “yeah, we’re just going with the pitches too much,” though “we need to be more aggressive” might be saying that. Whatever. I vote the Sox stop trying to pull the ball. Good talk.

Except Jake Odorizzi, today’s starter, likes to give up homers. If pulling the ball aids homering, maybe pull it? See, I know nothing. Carlos Correa is out of the lineup today for Houston, so the Sox get a slight reprieve there, as is Kyle Tucker. The Red Sox, late with their lineup as they often are when their backs are against the wall, were late with their lineups. Danny Santana is in the leadoff spot and Kiké Hernandez and Christian Vázquez are out of the lineup. Here you go: