I picked the Houston Astros to best the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS in four games, but I didn't think it would play out like it did.
The Red Sox were utterly listless in the first two games falling to the Astros in Houston by a score of 8-2 in both games. Astros second baseman Jose Altuve looked unstoppable after his 3 home run effort in Game 1. A bad omen had been set when Red Sox DH Eduardo Nunez blew out his knee on the second pitch of the game.
It looked like the same pattern would follow in Game 3 as Red Sox starter Doug Fister allowed three runs in the 1st inning on a 3-run HR by Carlos Correa. It would have been 6-0 if Mookie Betts hadn't robbed Josh Reddick of a home run in the third inning. The Sox scored a run in the bottom of that inning and took a lead in the fourth on a Rafael Devers 3-run home run. The Sox exploded for six runs in the 7th inning highlighted by a Jackie Bradley, Jr. 3-run home run which Reddick's glove bounced into the stands behind the Pesky Pole. There was Hanley Ramirez's 4 for 4 effort after holding a "Believe in Boston" banner before the game. But above all else it was David Price's four scoreless innings out of the bullpen which served as a form of penance for his altercation with Red Sox legend and Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley earlier in the season. The Sox' 10-3 victory brightened an otherwise dreary day in Boston.
The dreary weather continued at Fenway Park today and wasn't helped when the Astros took a 1-0 lead off Rick Porcello. But Xander Bogaerts broke an 0 for 14 slump with a game tying home run in the bottom of the 1st. The Astros answered with a George Springer single in the second to take a 2-1 lead. Porcello labored through 3 innings before Chris Sale was brought in. He was eager to make up for the 7 runs he surrendered in Game 1. He would begin by getting the Red Sox's first three up, three down inning since Price in the 5th inning of Game 2.
Astros starter Charlie Morton was serviceable into the fifth inning. But Astros manager A.J. Hinch played a hunch and brought in Justin Verlander for his first ever MLB relief appearance. It backfired. Andrew Benintendi greeted him with a go ahead 2-run HR and the Fenway faithful greeted him with mock "Justin!!!" "Justin!!!" chants.
Sale held the Sox's 3-2 for four innings. But his fifth inning of work was another story. Astros third baseman Alex Bregman who homered off Sale in Game 1 took him deep to tie the game at 3-3. The mood turned surly when the ball girl inadvertently interfered with a ball hit by Astros' DH Evan Gattis. If anything they should have cheered her because the umps said Gattis had to go back to first base. With two outs, acting manager Gary DiSarcina lifted Sale from Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel (manager John Farrell was ejected in the second inning to protect Dustin Pedroia from being ejected after he was called out on strikes). Unfortunately, Kimbrel didn't have his stuff. He walked Springer and Reddick, after being robbed of a home run and giving the Red Sox a home run. got the go ahead hit and the Astros took a 4-3 lead. Kimbrel would also give up an insurance run to the Astros in the 9th when 40-year old Carlos Beltran hit a wall ball double. Addison Reed was brought in to get the final out of the 9th.
When the Sox came up in the 9th, they hadn't had a hit since Benintendi's HR in the 5th. Devers would rectify this with an inside the park HR. But Beltran's double would loom large. Instead of tying the game, the Sox were still down 5-4. Astros closer Ken Giles regrouped and retired Christian Vazquez, Jackie Bradley, Jr, and after 9 pitches, Pedroia to end the Red Sox' season. Astros win 5-4 and advance to the ALCS which will commence either in Cleveland against the Indians or back in Houston against the New York Yankees. The Indians have a 2-1 lead over the Yankees in their ALDS. The Tribe could clinch this evening or the Yankees could force a Game 5 back in Cleveland on Wednesday.
So where do the Red Sox go from here? The Fenway faithless have been calling for manager John Farrell's head. Frankly, they don't appreciate what they have. They don't see the Sox as a team that has won back to back AL East titles, but as a team that has lost two straight ALDS match ups. Boston wants nothing less than a World Series and being limited to winning the AL East isn't good enough. What the Red Sox need isn't a new manager but a power hitter. Simply put another David Ortiz. Easier said than done.
As for the Astros, should they prevail in the ALCS they will become the first team in MLB history to represent both leagues in the World Series. The Astros won the NL pennant in 2005, but were swept by the Chicago White Sox in the Fall Classic. If nothing else, the Astros are a welcome diversion for a city devastated by Hurricane Harvey.
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