Astros 5, Red Sox 3: Astros sneak by Red Sox for first win at Fenway

Fenway park is a cathedral to baseball. There is something about the color and the light hitting the players that makes every game seem like it's being played in October. As if this game was a preview of playoffs games well into the future. But, at the present, it was a game between two teams far out of the playoffs race.

Dallas Keuchel and his luxurious beard to the mound in Boston. He looked like he should be wearing flannel and pouring drinks at a bar on Yawkey Way, but instead he was mowing down hitters like he did all season. Clay Buchholz has had a terrible season, but the Astros have been the remedy to what ails him. Both pitchers were painting the black, and making battlers look bad. Each would go seven and strike out seven-plus.

Yoenis Cespedes two-run home run that snuck over the green monster to Boston in the lead. The Astros responded with a run in the top half of the next inning with back-to-back-to-back singles from Jake Marisnick, Marwin Gonzalez, and Robbie Grossman to set the score at 2-1.

In the seventh, Robbie Grossman rapped a ball around Pesky's Pole to tie the game at 2-2.

The Red Sox responded in kind with a run in the bottom of the seventh, Christian Vazquez moved up on a wild pitch after singling with two outs. Brock Holt singled to right and made sure Vazquez was given no attention at the plate by getting thrown out attempting to stretch a single into double.

It was again the Astros turn to respond, Chris Carter led off the eighth with a single. Dexter Fowler followed with a bloop single that feel between three Red Sox down the left-field line. At this point, Gregorio Petit replaced Chris Carter at second. The next two astros hitters would strikeout, setting the table for Matt Dominguez. Dominguez hit cue shot right at Xander Bogaerts. Bogaerts flipped the ball to Dustin Pedroia as Dexter Fowler raced down to second. Fowler and Pedroia reached the bag at the same time, Fowler was called safe.

Pedroia quickly turned and saw Petit half way home. Pedroia fired and hitting Christian Vazquez, Vazquez took a wide turn toward Petit and away from the base path. Petit saw his opening and raced home. The Red Sox pitcher, Burke Badenhop, was covering home. He caught a flip from Vazquez and at the same time dropped to his knees in front of the plate. Petit made a cut that Arian Foster would be proud in front of the kneeling pitcher and extended his hand toward the plate.

The umpire watching all of this madness inexplicably extended his arms in opposite direction to call Petit safe.  The Astros had come back for a second time in game, and a review of the play by the Red Sox wouldn't change that.

The Astros and Red Sox would head to extra inning with the score tied 3-3. Houston would load the bases with two singles and hit by pitch in the top of the tenth. Jon Singleton and Matt Dominguez both popped out. New Astro, Jake Marisnick flipped the third straight fastball he faced from Red Sox closer Junichi Tazawa down the right field line. Marisnick seem to be calculate the landing spot out of the box when the ball hit the chalk and bounced out of play. It wasn't a home run or a gapper, but Marisnick drove home two with a pop-up ground rule double.

Tony Sipp closed the door on the Astros' fifty-first win matching their win total in 2013 and their first win in Fenway park in nine tries.

Dexter Fowler and Robbie Grossman lead the way for the Astros offense - both men reached base three times in the game. Matt Dominguez and Jon Singleton together left 15 runners on base. In all the Astros were 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position for the night, but they made those two hits count.