HOUSTON -- With the way the Astros have been swinging the bats in the first week of the season, they really didn’t need a rallying cry to break out the lumber again Wednesday afternoon. Red Sox starter Garrett Crochet gave them one, anyway.

Crochet had been pitching Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez inside during each at-bat, even backing him off the plate a couple of times. So when he plunked Alvarez in the ribs with a pitch in the fifth inning, Alvarez flung his bat in frustration. One out later, Carlos Correa cranked a three-run homer to break a tie and send the Astros to their fifth win in a row, 6-4, and a three-game sweep of the Red Sox at Daikin Park.

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