3 Boston Red Sox most to blame for sweep at hands of Houston Astros

The Boston Red Sox were swept by the Houston Astros this week. Boston has fallen out of the AL Wild Card race for now. Here's who to blame.

The Red Sox were utterly dominated by the Houston Astros in what was a highly-anticipated series early this week. Alex Cora's group had an opportunity to cut into Houston's AL Wild Card edge, but instead fell flat on their face.

The Red Sox were outscored 26-11 in the series, with the majority of Houston's damage coming in the first game of the set. The Astros are the defending World Series champions for a reason, and they flexed their muscles after a disappointing homestand in which they let the Seattle Mariners back into the AL West race.

Faced with the task of redemption in their upcoming series against the Royals, Boston must first reflect. Who is to blame for their disappointment at home vs Houston?

Red Sox to blame: Start with Kyle Barraclough

Boston had a lead in the first game of this series until it was relinquished by Chris Sale, who has struggled all season long. In an attempt to save face and perhaps the bullpen, Alex Cora put Kyle Barraclough into the game. That...did not end well.

Barraclough, who had just been called up by the Red Sox after pitching well in Triple-A Worcester, gave up 10 earned runs in short order. He threw over 90 pitches, and frankly they were not good ones. Cora felt awful after the game, even suggesting he put Barraclough in a no-win situation.

"We had a lot of guys down," Cora said, per CBS Sports. "This is where we were. We had Chris [Martin] and we had Kenley [Jansen]. It just didn't happen for [Barraclough] today. He'd been throwing strikes the whole time in the minor leagues and Triple A. He was the guy in there and it just didn't happen."

Damn right it didn't happen. There's a reason Barraclough is listed third and not first on this list. While he struggled, it wasn't his call to keep a struggling reliever in the game far too long.