Red Sox ace Crochet calls start vs. Astros 'embarrassing'

Boston Red Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was not pleased with himself after allowing five runs (four earned) during a 6-4 loss to the Houston Astros on Wednesday.

"It's embarrassing," Crochet said, according to MassLive's Christopher Smith.

"And typically in the past, I've played that stopper role. And today I just let the guys down, especially when we scratched one (run) early in the first. And then for me to give it right back and then ultimately give them the lead at the bottom of the first, it's not acceptable."

The Red Sox jumped out to an early lead in the first inning thanks to Willson Contreras' RBI single, but Crochet struggled in the bottom half of the frame. He allowed back-to-back doubles to Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes, which was followed by a Trevor Story error and RBI single from Christian Walker.

Crochet followed his rough first with three solid innings before things went awry in the fifth when he allowed three more runs. He was replaced by Greg Weissert to begin the sixth.

The 26-year-old entered Wednesday with his Red Sox having lost four straight.

Crochet expects the team to perform better once they return to Fenway Park for Friday's game against the San Diego Padres.

"We're about to go home, and I expect us to have a better response once we get there, especially with an off day to really sit on this, sit on these tough times," Crochet said.

"But today I felt like we made the adjustment. Ultimately, it was me that kind of screwed the game up for us."