Trevor Story and Ceddanne Rafaela had consecutive RBI singles in a six-run fourth inning filled with five Houston mistakes, Lucas Giolito pitched a season-high eight stellar innings, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Astros 6-1 to complete a series sweep.

Lucas Giolito’s longest outing in four years propelled the Red Sox to a 6-1, sweep-completing win over Astros on Sunday afternoon. He stifled Houston’s lineup for eight innings, allowing one run and three hits. The lone blemish: a home run from Carlos Correa on a 92-mile-per-hour fastball left over the middle of the middle of the plate.

For the past few years, facing the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros early in the second half of the season has been the beginning of the end of the Red Sox’s playoff hopes. The Red Sox