I have to be honest, I fully expected Dustin May to suck tonight. There was an undercurrent of anger in my mood all afternoon, and I was dreading what this series could mean for the backend of the road trip.

It all felt predetermined: May was going to get clobbered, the losing streak was going to extend to four games with Walker Buehler going against Hunter Brown in the finale, and the odds of winning the division would continue to dwindle. Disaster was lurking on the horizon with the bottom of the rotation coming apart, and the weapons were about to come out rehashing the underwhelming trade deadline.

But then, they played the game, and baseball started baseballing. Dustin May, who couldn’t get out of the fourth inning in his first start in a Red Sox uniform, had a 5.66 ERA in his last 17 starts, and has been terrible on the road all year, went out shoved it right in the face of me, all the other doubters, and most importantly, the Houston bats. He stopped the losing streak, got better as the game went on, struck out eight guys, only walked one, and didn’t allow a run over six innings of work.

And no, it wasn’t just because the Red Sox put a million runs on the board and he pitched in a low leverage lounge chair. This was a 2-0 game into the sixth inning in a hostile environment against a team fighting for the AL West title with Seattle. While the Astros aren’t quite what they once were, they still have more than enough firepower to make what May did tonight extremely impressive. Hell, it’s the same lineup that knocked Crochet around last night.

So I’m here to say, I was wrong. I thought May would fold in this hornet’s nest, and he did the exact opposite. Touche, Big Red!

Now, do I expect him to be a reliable starter going forward? Hell no! There’s too much of a negative track record here. But hey, I’d be happy to be wrong again.

On the other side of the ball, and in more expected fashion, Roman Anthony was once again spectacular. He led off the game with a walk, hit a home run off a lefty for the second day in a row, and continues to be a gigantic thorn in the side of any pitcher who faces him in a tight spot. It’s an absolute joy to watch!

He’s starting to do things on a daily basis that come attached with graphics stating things like: “the first Red Sox player to do ”x” at this age since the FDR administration.”

Here’s his home run (since it’s a better highlight than all the walks)

With the win tonight, the Sox clinch the season series and tiebreaker against the Astros, which is not insignificant given the home field advantage in the Wild Card round. While it’s true baseball has the smallest home field advantage of any of the four major North American team sports, it feels a little more significant when these teams get together given their history.

Dustin May: Tremendous outing! He didn’t just pitch great, he did it in a moment that kept the train on the tracks. With Crochet losing on Monday and Buehler going against Brown on Wednesday, this had five game losing streak written all over it. May stepped up and crushed it!

Roman Anthony: On base five times with four walks and a home run. Also, is this any good?

Carlos Narvaez: Broke the game open with his big swing in the sixth, a three run shot to turn a 2-0 lead into a 5-0 lead.

Ceddanne Rafaela: One of only two Red Sox starters in the lineup without an RBI. He went just 1-5 with two strike outs and again proved a much less dynamic player out of his natural habitat in centerfield.

Errors: The Red Sox made three of them tonight. Still something they need to clean up as it will costs them in closer games.

Roster construction: Whether it’s Alex Cora, the folks upstairs, or a mutual decision, the practice of playing Ceddanne Rafaela at second base continues to be monumentally infuriating! He’s the best defensive centerfielder in the American League, and taking away the dynamic, energetic plays he makes at that position makes the team worse. Oh, and there’s also the fact that Rafaela’s OPS is .500 points lower when he’s playing in the infield. It didn’t cost them tonight, but this charade needs to end now!

If we’re talking just one play and not players, it’s probably the Carlos Narvaez home run that opened the flood gates in the sixth: