Buchholz Tosses Complete Game, Red Sox Beat Astros 6-1

Clay Buchholz pitched a six-hitter to win his fourth straight start, coming within one out of a shutout as the Boston Red Sox rebounded from a tough loss with a 6-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday.

Mookie Betts drove in three runs and made a leaping catch in center field to help the Red Sox snap Houston's five-game winning streak.

Buchholz (7-6) struck out eight and didn't walk a batter in his ninth career complete game. He is 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA in four starts against the Astros.

Luis Valbuena's RBI single with two outs in the ninth broke up the shutout.

Betts hit two RBI doubles and a sacrifice fly. Sandy Leon had three singles for the Red Sox, and Xander Bogaerts drove in two runs.

Unlike Friday night's extra-inning game that was filled with three Boston comebacks before the Astros pulled out a 12-8 victory in the 10th, the Red Sox scored early and won for the fifth time in seven games.

Boston Sox grabbed a 1-0 lead against Collin McHugh (9-4) three batters into the first on Bogaerts' RBI single. Betts' sacrifice fly made it 2-0 in the second.

McHugh gave up four runs - three earned - and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings.

In the fifth, the Red Sox turned catcher Hank Conger's throwing error into an unearned run. Brock Holt hit a dribbler in front of the plate and Conger fired the ball down the right-field line. Bogaerts followed by hooking a low, outside pitch into the left-field corner for an RBI double.

Betts hit a run-scoring double just inside third base to make it 4-0 in the sixth. His second RBI double came in a two-run eighth.

Betts also made a nice grab of Jose Altuve's drive on the warning track after a long run for the first out of the game.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Astros: Colby Rasmus started in center field and went 0 for 3 with three strikeouts in his first game since June 26 due to a skin infection on his left wrist. Manager A.J. Hinch said Rasmus will probably play every other day for the next week. ... OF Jake Marisnick (hamstring) was to arrive in Boston on Saturday following a minor league rehab stint at Triple-A Fresno. Hinch said Marisnick will be activated Sunday or Monday.

Red Sox: 2B Dustin Pedroia, on the 15-day DL with a strained right hamstring, hit in the cage after increasing his running a day earlier. Manager John Farrell said the club is still trying to decide if Pedroia will be activated for a series against the New York Yankees next weekend.

UP NEXT

Astros: RHP Lance McCullers (4-2) is slated to start the series finale Sunday. He threw seven innings of one-run ball in a win over Kansas City on Wednesday.

Red Sox: Rookie LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (4-2) is scheduled to start. He's allowed one run or none in four of his six starts.