Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. But it’s even better to be lucky early and then get good later to seal the deal.
The luck came both ways the first few innings. For the first time since joining the Sox in May Adrian Houser just didn’t have it, getting clobbered by pretty much everyone in the MLB-worst Pirates offense. He escaped a three-hit first inning when Mike Tauchman got a fortunate bounce and made a nifty throw for the third out.
Houser escaped in the second after an Oneil Cruz leadoff triple, thanks mostly to a line shot right at Josh Rojas.