HOUSTON — Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet had his shortest start of the season on Monday, pitching just four innings in a 7-6 loss to the Astros .

“Obviously my worst one since I’ve worn the Red Sox uniform,” Crochet said. “So it’s tough. Not like there’s a good time for it ever, but it’s tough to come right now, for sure. We’ve got a lot of goals as a team right now.”

So what happened? What led to Crochet allowing five runs on seven hits? Christian Walker’s two-run double in the third inning made it 3-2 Houston. Chas McCormick’s two-run homer in the fourth that made it 5-2

“Without divulging too much, the obvious thing was I spun them a lot first time through the order,” Crochet said.

Crochet — who dropped to 13-5 with a 2.48 ERA in 24 starts — typically goes heavy with his fastball

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