After the Red Sox took a 3-1 lead in the first inning, Boston and Houston have traded runs, leaving the score at 4-2 through six.
Andrew Miller dealt with his usual streaks of questionable control throughout his six innings of work, often having pitches get well away from him and bringing Saltalamacchia out of his crouch on more than a few occasions. But when he was putting the ball in the zone, especially with off-speed pitches, he was getting exactly what he needed: ground balls. With the Astros driving the ball into the dirt 11 times, Miller seemed to get a double play every time he needed one.
Still, one more run did score for Houston. Much as Orlando Hudson had sent Miller off with a loud homer in his first start with the Red Sox, Hunter Pence dealt him some late damage with a sixth inning solo shot absolutely crushed to left.
The run only made up, however, for the one Happ had given up to the Red Sox an inning earlier. After striking out Andrew Miller to start the fifth, Happ gave up back-to-back doubles to Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia to bring home the fourth Red Sox run of the night.
Terry Francona has told Miller that he is done for the night, as is David Ortiz. With a late game lead, Terry Francona has elected to insert Josh Reddick into the lineup, shifting Adrian Gonzalez to first base and Darnell McDonald to right to shore up a questionable right side.