Red Sox vs. Astros lineups, preview, and notes for May 1, 2026
After a time without work, the Red Sox will look to get again on monitor after they host the Astros on Friday night time to kick off a three-game sequence.
Both groups are struggling, to say the least. The Sox misplaced the ultimate two video games of their sequence at Toronto to drop to 12-19 and final place within the AL East. The Astros are 12-20, tied for final within the AL West with the Angels.
After placing ace Garrett Crochet on the 15-day injured list Earlier this week, the Sox haven’t introduced a starter for the opener, though it’s anticipated that Jake Bennett will get the decision and make his massive league debut. The lefthander was scratched from his begin for Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday.
1:53 pm: The Red Sox introduced Bennett as Friday’s starter.
The Red Sox acquired Bennett from Washington for pitching prospect Luis Perales last December. The Nationals chosen Bennett within the second spherical of the 2022 MLB Draft. He missed the 2024 season after present process Tommy John surgical procedure.
“Big-time strike thrower,” mentioned Chad Tracy, who will make his Fenway debut as interim supervisor for the Red Sox. “The velocity and the fastball has obviously ticked up. He was coming off an arm injury when he was with Washington. But when he’s sitting there 94 [miles per hour] — another guy kind of like [Payton] Tolle, doesn’t throw as hard, but big guy that really gets down the mound with big extension. So he tends to get in on hitters, too, because the fastball plays up.”
The Astros will counter with righthander Mike Burrows, who is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in two appearances against the Red Sox.
Here is a preview.
ASTROS (12-20): TBA
Pitching: RHP Mike Burrows (1-3, 6.25 ERA)
RED SOX (12-19): TBA
Pitching: TBA
Time: 7:10 p.m.
TV, radio: NESN+, WEEI-FM 93.7
Astros vs. : Has not faced any Houston batters
Red Sox vs. Burrows: Wilyer Abreu 1-3, Roman Anthony 1-1, Willson Contreras 1-2, Jarren Duran 2-5, Caleb Durbin 0-6, Isiah Kiner-Falefa 0-1, Carlos Narváez 0-1, Ceddanne Rafaela 0-1, Trevor Story 1-5, Connor Wong 2-2, Masataka Yoshida 1-4
Stat of the day: Yordan Alvarez is hitting .391 with nine home runs and 25 RBIs in 26 regular-season games against the Red Sox.
Notes: Bennett is 2-1 with a 0.86 ERA in five starts with Worcester this season. He has struck out 16 and walked three in 21 innings. … “He’s in the zone a lot,” said Tracy, who managed Bennett with the WooSox. “Does a superb job of holding runners. He can go from a slide step, he can use a leg kick, lands all stuff. But he is actually, actually good, a minimum of down there was, getting the ball within the strike zone. And he will get a number of weak contact.” …While the Sox were off on Thursday, the Astros split a doubleheader with the Orioles in Baltimore. … Alvarez had his 13-game hitting streak snapped in Thursday’s opener but bounced back with a home run in Houston’s 11-5 win in the nightcap. He is tied for the AL lead in home runs (12) and is first in RBIs (27) and batting average (.356).
Information from Field Level Media was used on this report.
Follow Andrew Mahoney @GlobeMahoney.
