Astros fans furious at Dusty Baker for seemingly throwing JP France, Yainer Diaz under the bus after Red Sox humiliation

Dusty Baker's Houston Astros were on the receiving end of an unexpected punishment as the Boston Red Sox completed a 17-1 rout of the reigning World Series champions on Thursday.

It was a nightmare outing for Astros' rookie starter JP France, who has been one of the best performers for the club this season. France was hit for 10 runs by the Red Sox in a dazzling display of power-hitting as the 28-year-old rookie was unable to even finish three innings.

Former Astros prospect Wilyer Abreu registered his first MLB home run at the expense of the rookie.

It was a surprising performance from the Astros pitcher on a night when he was expected to go deep into the game to strengthen the team's weakened bullpen. However, the Red Sox took a liking to France’s four-seam fastball as they registered hits on 11 four-seamers.

Following this aberration on the field, manager Dusty Baker reckoned that the rookie pitcher wasn't in sync with catcher Yainer Diaz on Thursday night.

“We knew they could hit and when the hits started coming, it’s hard to stop,” Baker said in a post-game interaction. “It appears that him and [catcher] Yainer [Diaz] weren’t on the same page for a while. You could sort of tell they were out of sync. That’s the hardest he’s been hit this year.”

Baker's statement did not sit well with the Astros fans as they felt aggrieved by the World Series-winning manager's decision to put the blame on the rookie pitcher and the catcher.

Fans believed that Baker's statement was uncalled for, especially in regard to Diaz, who hasn't been given enough chances to prove his credentials for the World Series holders.

Dusty Baker's bullpen worries compounded after the Red Sox's drubbing

France's underwhelming outing meant that the Astros had to rely on Brandon Bielak who was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land prior to Thursday’s game.

Bielak threw 112 pitches on the night, the second-most by an Astros pitcher since Bob Forsch dished 114 pitches in 1989. With the bases loaded in the third inning, Bielak allowed all three runners to score.

However, he held Red Sox scoreless over the next four innings before being replaced by Rafael Montero.

“I came in with the bases loaded and I just didn’t do the job there,” Bielak said. “The game got away right there in that moment. We didn’t really have any guys available in the bullpen and I knew it was my game from then out, and I had to dig deep and give everything I had to the team.”

France's latest outing has compounded the problems from the mound as the Astros have not managed five innings or more from their starting pitcher in their last 11 games. The Astros' bullpen is showing signs of concern as they prepare to defend their crown in October.