Holt covers all bases
Red Sox infielder completes 1st cycle in playoff history
NEW YORK — Brock Holt became the first player to hit for the cycle in a postseason game, and the Red Sox routed the Yankees 16-1 on Monday night to grab a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five AL Division Series.
Andrew Benintendi lined a three-run double and Holt tripled home two more in a seven-run fourth inning that quickly turned the latest playoff matchup between these longtime rivals into a laugher. Handed a big early lead, Nathan Eovaldi shut down his former team during the Yankees’ most lopsided defeat in 396 postseason games.
Boston battered an ineffective Luis Severino and silenced a charged-up Yankee Stadium crowd that emptied out fast on a night when Red Sox rookie manager Alex Cora made all the right moves. By the ninth, backup catcher Austin Romine was on the mound for the Yankees — he gave up a two-run homer to Holt that completed his cycle.
Game 4 is Tuesday night in the Bronx, where the 108-win Red Sox can put away the wild-card Yankees for good and advance to the AL Championship Series against Houston. Rick Porcello is scheduled to pitch for Boston against CC Sabathia.
Boosted by noisy fans in their homer-friendly ballpark, the Yankees entered 7-0 at home the last two postseasons — against outof-division opponents. But the Red Sox, frequent visitors of course, were hardly intimidated.
Holt, making his first playoff start this year, opened the fourth with a Brock Holt circles the bases after homering in the ninth — off catcher Austin Romine — to complete the cycle. Red Sox lead 2-1 G1: Red Sox 5, Yankees 4 G2: Yankees 6, Red Sox 2 G3: Red Sox 16, Yankees 1 G4: Red Sox (Porcello) at Yankees (Sabathia) 8:07 p.m. Tuesday, TBS G5: Yankees at Red Sox 7:40 p.m. Thursday, TBS Game 5 if necessary single off Severino and capped the outburst with a triple to right field. Holt also doubled home a run in the eighth — he finished with five RBIs and four of the Red Sox’s 18 hits.
Eovaldi pitched for the Yankees from 2015-16 before injuring his elbow, which required a second Tommy John surgery. The Red Sox acquired him from the Rays in July.
Bumped up a day in front of Porcello, he delivered a gem in his first postseason appearance. Eovaldi allowed one run and five hits in seven innings, throwing 72 of 97 pitches for strikes.