BOSTON -- Considering how the previous two games of the American League Championship Series played out, the way Xander Bogaerts started Tuesday's contest felt like the setup to yet another high-powered offensive performance for the Red Sox.

Much like Kyle Schwarber¡¯s history-making grand slam did the night before, Bogaerts sent a sellout crowd at Fenway Park into a frenzy by providing an early jolt in the form of a two-run home run off Astros starter Zack Greinke in the first inning. However, those runs ended up being all Boston could muster in a 9-2 loss to the Astros in Game 4 of the ALCS.

With the Red Sox limited to just five hits, Tuesday¡¯s loss snapped a streak of six consecutive games in which they collected 10 or more hits, which is the longest streak over a single postseason in MLB history.

After Bogaerts homered in the first, the Red Sox were held to just two hits from the second through the eighth inning in what was a tightly contested matchup. They collected a pair of singles in the ninth after the game had already been broken open by a seven-run ninth put together by Houston.

Even with the low-hit output, the Red Sox still had their chances, they just couldn¡¯t cash in, which is uncommon for them this October. They left a total of 11 runners on base, and their 0-for-9 performance with runners in scoring position in Game 4 was their most at-bats going hitless in such situations in the playoffs since Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, when they also went 0-for-9.

¡°We had traffic on the bases. We had opportunities,¡± Boston manager Alex Cora said. ¡°You have to give [Houston¡¯s] bullpen credit. They made big outs when they needed to.¡±

One positive that remained was the impressive plate discipline by Red Sox hitters. They worked seven walks against Houston, contributing to Greinke¡¯s early exit in the second inning. Boston drew three walks in its first eight plate appearances against the veteran right-hander.

¡°We had chances early in the game, too,¡± said Cora. ¡°We've been so good for so long that you are going to have games like that. But approach-wise, seven walks is great. We grind some at-bats. J.D. [Martinez] got two 3-2 counts. He got called out on a fastball away, and then he swung at a slider, but he ground out the at-bats.

¡°I think [about] the chances we had early on. They did an outstanding job with the bullpen. We didn't do enough offensively, and now we go to Game 5.¡±

It¡¯s clear Cora isn't sounding the alarm on his offense, and he shouldn¡¯t be. One look at the numbers the Sox have produced this postseason shows just how potent that offense can be. For instance, Bogaerts¡¯ homer was Boston's 21st of the playoffs, the second most by a team through nine games of a postseason run behind the 2004 Astros (22).

The Red Sox also have the hottest hitter on the planet in Kik¨¦ Hern¨¢ndez, who, despite going 1-for-5 on Tuesday, maintains a gaudy .463/.477/.927 slash line through nine playoff games.

So, yes, the entirety of Game 4 was a disappointment. With the late-inning collapse that transpired, the ALCS is now tied up 2-2, meaning the Red Sox can no longer clinch on their home field. But from an offensive perspective, they seem confident that this game was an outlier.

¡°Overall, we didn't get hits,¡± Cora said. ¡°We didn't produce too much. But I think the approach was [still] good.¡±