Bats Still Booming, Boston Routs Houston 12-3 in ALCS Game 3

BOSTON — The Red Sox came into Monday’s ALCS Game 3 having recorded double-digit hits in each of their last five games, a postseason streak matched only by the 1989 Cubs, the 2002 Angels, and the ’04 Astros. More importantly, they’d scored 39 runs and won four times, with the lone loss inconsequential in the club’s quest for a World Series championship. Returning to Fenway Park looking to gain an edge in a series knotted at a game apiece, Boston boasted the hottest bats of the four teams still standing.

The onslaught continued on a chilly night that started with a game-time temperature of 54 degrees. Buoyed by four home runs, Boston bashed Houston by a score of 12-3, swatting 11 hits along the way.

Game 3 was similar to Saturday’s Game 2 — a 9-5 Red Sox win — in several respects. Early offense set the tone, and it came after Eduardo Rodriguez began by firing bullets. The Red Sox southpaw retired the first six Astros batters, four by way of the strikeout, and the 95.8 mph heater that Michael Brantley swung through wasn’t just a whiff, it the hardest pitch he’s thrown in 2021.

By evening’s end, Rodriguez had received the most run support he had all year, too.

Houston’s José Urquidy was efficient in the first inning, but the second was another story entirely. Alex Verdugo was the catalyst. Boston’s five-hole hitter worked an 11-pitch walk, and to the delight of 37,603 strong, it wasn’t his only plate appearance of the frame.

The sequence, meanwhile, was agonizing for the Astros. J.D. Martinez lined a double off the Green Monster, Hunter Renfroe walked to load the bases, and Christian Vázquez looped a single to make it 1-0. Then came the play that made the crooked number possible. Christian Arroyo chopped what looked to be a sure double-play grounder, but Jose Altuve booted the ball, allowing another run to score and reloading the bases. Kyle Schwarber followed with the third Red Sox grand slam in two days. The 430-foot moonshot into the right-field stands made it 6-0, and a beleaguered Urquidy soon departed having recorded just four outs.

Boston’s offense wasn’t done. Alex Cora’s club plated three more in the third, courtesy of a Vázquez single and an Arroyo home run off of Yimi García. Just as they had in Game 2, the Red Sox had a 9-0 lead when Houston came up to bat in the fourth.

Grand-slam redux wasn’t the only déjà vu. The Astros matched Saturday afternoon’s fourth-inning three spot, this time with a Kyle Tucker fence-clearer with two aboard. The drive to right didn’t travel as far as Schwarber’s, but at 413 feet it was plenty far enough to cut the deficit by a third. With five innings left to play and baseball’s most prolific offense showing signs of life, Houston held onto a glimmer of hope.

Dusty Baker’s bullpen did its best to keep things within shouting distance. Aiming for yet another repeat of Saturday’s script — Boston didn’t score over the final five frames in Game 2 — Blake Taylor tossed a goose egg in the bottom of the fourth, and Brooks Raley followed suit in the fifth. On the opposite side of the ledger, Rodriguez rallied from his lone rocky inning to retire the Astros in order in both the fifth and sixth. His night was complete. Seven days after holding the Tampa Bay Rays to two runs over five innings in ALDS Game 4, the lefty had limited the Astros to three runs over six innings, becoming Boston’s first postseason starter to throw at least six frames. Moreover, he’d once again issued nary a free pass.

Rafael Devers drew Boston’s fifth walk of the evening to lead off the bottom of the sixth. Two outs later, Phil Maton replaced Raley to face Martinez, who proceeded to slam a misplaced off-speed pitch over the Monster. Suddenly the score was 11-3. Two innings later, Dever went deep and it was 12-3. Three Red Sox relievers shut down the Astros over the last three innings, but truth be told, it hardly mattered. With Boston’s bats once again booming, the deficit was simply too large.

Game 4 is tomorrow, with Zack Greinke and Nick Pivetta the announced starters.