The Red Sox’ search for momentum this season feels unending.
It’s also feeling increasingly futile and at times amateurish.
Friday night’s 12-8 extra-inning loss to the Astros featured all three momentum-blockers.
Hoping to capitalize on a superb 5-2 road trip, the Red Sox instead were let down mightily by a fourth-inning meltdown from starter Justin Masterson that turned an early 2-0 lead into a 5-2 hole.
The offense, however, rallied three different times to tie the game before the pitching again let down the Red Sox.
The last failed rally – David Ortiz’ RBI double in the eighth tied the game at 8 – led to a later and final heartache, when rookie phenom Carlos Correa singled in the winning run in the 10th inning off Noe Ramirez, who was making his big-league debut.