Though he didn’t get the win – that went to Joe Kelly – David Price deserves a tremendous amount of credit for the win.
BOSTON – Five takeaways from the Boston Red Sox’ 10-3 win over the Houston Astros in Game 3 of the American League Division Series at Fenway Park on Sunday:
It hasn’t been an easy season for Boston’s high-priced left-hander. He lost 93 games to two stints on the disabled list. He made just 11 starts and 16 appearances, his fewest for both since 2008, his debut year when he made one and five, respectively. He was also at the center of some off-field controversy.
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And though he didn’t get the win on Sunday – that went to Joe Kelly – Price deserves a tremendous amount of credit for the win. Price went four scoreless innings, the longest postseason work by a Red Sox reliever since Pedro Martinez went six innings in Game 5 of the 1999 ALDS against Cleveland.
“In the world of all hands on deck, today showed why you have that,” said Astros manager A. J. Hinch. “And he exceeded expectations just being able to bounce back as a former starter, then he used a lot of pitches the other day (38 pitches over 2 2/3 innings in Game 2). …
«That was pretty impressive. We weren’t surprised by him, no.”
Neither were his teammates.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” said Hanley Ramirez. “I know David, he’s a machine, he’s a competitor, and when he’s on the mound he’s going to give everything he has. That’s him, that’s his attitude and that’s why he’s here.”
Hanley Ramirez emerged from the home team dugout as one of the last during pregame introductions. He was carrying a green flag bearing the slogan ‘Believe in Boston.’ The self-appointed cheerleader for the day, down 0-2 in the best-of-five series, on the brink of elimination, trying to get the home crowd behind the team.
“This attitude we have, everybody here wants to win and we just tried to continue that legacy to keep going on this team, to keep it going,» Ramirez said. «There’s a lot of young guys here that are going to play here for a long time, so just trying to wake everybody up.”
It helps when the cheerleader is in the middle of that awakening. Ramirez went 4-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. He is now hitting.600, going 6-for-10 in the series.
“He made a statement (Saturday) just on somewhat of a plea for the energy to our fans,” Farrell said. “They responded, he responded, a big day offensively. That’s one of the better day’s offensively Hanley’s had in quite some time.»
Ramirez has been dealing with shoulder issues since spring training. But things are different in the postseason.
“It’s the mindset,” he said. “It’s the playoffs. I’ve been saying this from the first day, when that first game comes, nothing hurts, you just got to go out there and find a way to perform. I think that that’s my job, find a way to come through in big situations.”
With the Astros leading 3-0 in the second inning, Josh Reddick drove an 88-mph slider from Joe Kelly into the first row of the right field seats. That would have given Houston a 6-0 lead. Unfortunately for the Astros, Mookie Betts was there to make the catch. Not only did it end the inning, it also ended the Astros’ building momentum.
The Red Sox scored a run in the bottom of the inning, three more in the next inning and never looked back. The Astros, meanwhile, put up no more runs.
It was one of several nifty plays Betts made in the game.
“Not just that catch, he had a big day defensively in right field,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “We have talked so much about the center-field range of our right fielders. He has it. But the way that game started out, that’s a big swing from Reddick that we have just enough real estate to bring it in.
It may not have been obvious at the time, but it was the turning point of the game.
“There’s such small margins in these games and huge moments throughout the entire day,» said Hinch, «that was one of them, even though it didn’t think like that necessarily in the second inning.”
After the first three games of the ALDS and the final series of the regular season – when the Astros took three or four from the Red Sox at Fenway – there aren’t too many surprises between the two teams. Houston is 5-2 in those seven games.
The Astros dominated the Red Sox in the first two games of the ALDS, outscoring them by a combined 16-4, before Boston’s uprising on Sunday. So, what can the Astros do differently to ensure the series doesn’t return to Houston?
“There are no secrets between the two of us,» said Hinch. «I think we know what we’re going to get. We don’t know who we’re going to face yet. I don’t know if they have announced it yet, but I don’t think there’s a ton of secrets. (The Red Sox later announced Rick Porcello is scheduled to start Game 4.)»
If the Red Sox are to extend the series, their hopes will be riding on the beleaguered right arm of Rick Porcello. If the Astros, who haven’t won a postseason series since 2005, want to avoid returning the series to Houston, they will rely on Charlie Morton, who threw more innings, 146 2/3, than he has since 2104 with Pittsburgh, going 14-7 (3.62) despite missing 39 games from May 25 – July 7 with a right lat strain.
Porcello, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, went 11-17 (4.65), leading the majors in losses this season, giving up a major league-high 38 home runs. A win in Game 4 would be a tremendous shot of redemption.
“Absolutely,” Porcello said. “I’m definitely looking forward to this opportunity and giving us a chance to go out there and play a Game 5 in Houston. So I couldn’t ask for a better opportunity and I’ll go out there and do my thing.
Porcello did not pitch in the four-game, season-ending series against the Astros, but faced them at Houston June 17 when he gave up seven runs in six innings. But he pitched a scoreless inning in relief in Game 2. He knows what he’s facing with Houston’s offense.
