BOSTON -- There’s not an Astros victory that has meant more to any player this year than Sunday afternoon’s 3-1 win over the Red Sox meant for reliever Bryan Abreu. Moved to the closer role when Josh Hader began the season on the injured list, Abreu gave up three runs in his first outing of the season and has continued to struggle with his confidence and his mechanics.
Astros manager Joe Espada had no choice but to try to limit Abreu’s exposure in high-leverage situations, which meant Abreu went extended stretches without pitching. That didn’t matter Sunday. Espada needed all the pitching help he could get against the Red Sox, including pushing Abreu for two innings for the first time since June 29, 2025.
Abreu, who entered the game with a 12.54 ERA, kept the Red Sox off the board in the ninth and 10th innings to pick up his first win of the season. And it secured a series win and 3-3 road trip to give the Astros some momentum ahead of the defending World Series champion Dodgers coming to Houston on Monday.
“Bryan Abreu, let’s start there,” Espada said. “First win of the year. Happy for him. There’s always a moment during the season where it gets you going, and that might be Bryan’s spot right there. We can’t get to where we want to get to without Bryan Abreu. Hopefully this is a trampoline that gets him going. I’m really proud of him for those two innings.”
Cody Bolton worked 2 1/3 innings as the Astros’ opener Sunday and was followed by AJ Blubaugh getting extended for a season-high 3 2/3 innings and 59 pitches, giving up a solo homer to Jarren Duran. Scoreless innings by Steven Okert and Enyel De Los Santos came next.
With lefty relievers Bennett Sousa and Bryan King having worked two games in a row and Kai-Wei Teng throwing 23 pitches Saturday, Abreu was summoned in the ninth inning of a tied game.
“He came in and I told him, ‘We’re going to win this game for you,’” Espada said. “‘You’re going to go out there and you’re going to finish this game.’ And it wasn’t pretty, but it got done, and that’s all that matters.”
Abreu recorded two quick outs in the ninth before he fielded a dribbler from Willson Contreras and threw it away. He regrouped to get Roman Anthony to ground out. Cam Smith drilled a two-run single off the Green Monster to give Houston a 3-1 lead in the 10th -- the Astros’ first clutch hit after beginning the game 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
Abreu went back out for the bottom of the 10th and loaded the bases with one out on a walk and a hit-by-pitch, but got Ceddanne Rafaela to ground into a game-ending double play. Whew.
“Being able to go out there and compete and help the team win, that’s a huge step for me,” said Abreu, who threw 15 of his 22 pitches for strikes.
Blubaugh said he got chills thinking about how Abreu has battled through adversity to post six huge outs Sunday.
“It’s honestly one of the most impressive things, seeing how he shows up every day,” he said. “Whether he just had a really good one or a really bad one, he’s ready to go. You won’t find anyone that works harder than him or anyone who cares more and wants to do more for his team, so for him to get that one today, I think it was huge.”
Abreu’s fastball velocity is still down from where it was last year and for most of this season. He averaged 93.5 mph on 11 fastballs Sunday -- down 1.6 mph from his 95.1 mph yearly average and 3.8 mph from his 97.3 mph fastball velocity last year.
“The velo is coming,” Abreu said. “Like with the delivery, if I feel a little wobbly on the mechanics, I don’t want to be forcing my arm and all that stuff. Whenever I get cleaner, the velo is going to come back.”
What stood out to Espada was Abreu’s calm heartbeat and poise on the mound in a big situation. That’s where Abreu belongs.
“He’s been there before,” he said. “He’s not the same guy so far this season that we have seen in the past, but I saw that same guy today -- poised, calm, [saying] ‘I belong in the ninth, I can do this for this team.’”