HOUSTON — Mike Napoli can still help a major league team.
As of last night, the 33-year-old first baseman was helping the Red Sox, crushing a solo home run off Astros rookie hurler Lance McCullers in the second inning, a double in the fourth and a game-tying RBI double in the eighth, sending the Sox to the ninth in a tie game.
But their often-faulty bullpen, one which was carefully put together on a budget in the offseason, fell apart. Alexi Ogando blew the Sox’ one-run lead in the seventh, and after Napoli bailed him out, Craig Breslow allowed a walkoff home run to All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve in the ninth as the Sox lost, 5-4, and are now stuck in a season-long eight-game losing streak.