Brown and Alvarez lead Astros past scuffling Red Sox 9-2 for 4th straight win

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HOUSTON (AP) — Hunter Brown pitched six smooth innings, Yordan Alvarez homered and drove in two runs, and the Houston Astros routed the Boston Red Sox 9-2 on Tuesday night for their fourth straight win.

Cam Smith also went deep for the Astros, who handed the Red Sox their fourth loss in a row following a victory on opening day.

Brown (1-0) allowed just one hit, an RBI double by Connor Wong in the fifth, and walked two. The right-hander finished with eight strikeouts, giving him 602 for his career. He reached 600 in 102 outings, the second-fastest in Astros history. Lance McCullers Jr. did it in 100 games.

Alvarez put the Astros on top with a first-inning RBI double. And with Houston leading 3-1 in the fifth, he sent a 2-2 curveball from Brayan Bello into the second deck of the right-field stands for his third home run this season.

Smith led off the seventh with his first homer of the year.

Making his season debut, Bello (0-1) allowed six runs, five earned, and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. His night ended when he issued a nine-pitch walk to Smith, but it appeared plate umpire Mark Wegner lost track of the count and Smith should’ve been out on strikes after three pitches. The Red Sox did not register a dispute during the at-bat.

Carlos Correa and Christian Walker each had two hits and two RBIs for the Astros, who have won four in a row after starting 0-2.

Cody Bolton permitted one run in three innings to earn his first major league save.

Ceddanne Rafaela hit his first home run of the season for Boston.

Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet (1-0) faces RHP Mike Burrows (0-1) when the series concludes Wednesday.

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