THREE OF A FIND
Dombrowski’s midseason additions pay big dividends
HOUSTON — Deep in the heart of Texas, the Red Sox are now deep inside the heads of Houston.
There is no other way to portray the Red Sox’ decisive 8-2 victory over the Astros in Game 3 yesterday as anything other than a kick in the teeth to the reigning World Series champs, a truly talented and deep team with a boastful third baseman in Alex “Dustin Pedroia” Bregman, who really is as good as he thinks he is.
The Astros remain a dangerous foe, yet it is a big, big deal that it was the Red Sox who rose to the occasion and grabbed on the road what feels like a commanding 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series.
It’s a lock that the Red Sox are going to play more baseball at Fenway Park this month — either in the elimination games during the ALCS or, possibly, in Games 1 and 2 of the World Series, if they somehow win the next two games at Minute Maid Park.
A sweep of the three games in Houston qualifies as highly unlikely, even more implausible than how the Red Sox swept two games from New York in hostile Yankee Stadium to close out the Division Series.
But you just can’t tell with a team that’s now won 113 games this season. The Red Sox seem to be pretty good at winning baseball games in seven — not just six — months of the season.
“I know it sounds boring, but we prepare, we play and then we turn the page and they don’t get caught up in the moment — I do feel that ALDS, we grew up as a team going to Game 3 — the sky was falling in Boston, it seems like all of a sudden we weren’t good,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “And they put a great game in Game 3. Finished the job in Game 4 (in the Bronx) and coming to this environment — it’s not easy to win here. This is a place that they feed off the crowd . ... I’m very proud of them.”
Red Sox president of the baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was beaming with pride as well. He understands that these are the two best teams left standing in the AL, and now his is standing in Houston up two games to one.
“You can see they don’t back down,” said Dombrowski. “They’re tough — our entire leadership, Alex, the staff, they’re tough guys. We bounce back, we’re resilient and that’s the type of club we have. We come in here, I don’t know what’s going to happen but our guys are comfortable coming in here. You can just feel it, too, before the game and yesterday working out.”
Dombrowski’s role in this victory was easy to see. Despite catching flak — still deserved, although final judgment is not yet in — for failing to obtain a reliever via a trade. He did make three smaller deals, however, acquiring first baseman Steve Pearce, starter Nathan Eovaldi and second baseman Ian Kinsler.
Yesterday, all three — even Kinsler in a backward sort of way — played crucial roles in the victory.
Pearce hit the go-ahead solo home run, the game-winner, in the sixth inning off reliever Joe Smith to give the Red Sox the 3-2 lead.
Pearce described his contribution as meaning “everything. These guys made it a lot easier for me when I came in here. Being in the AL East for such a long time that I played against these guys for so long that I knew them. I just had to get a chance to learn their personality.”
By now, Pearce understands that their personality is a peculiar brand of tunnel-vision.
Eovaldi did his part with a sixinning, two-run quality start that was his second standout performance of this postseason. He is about as level-headed and coldblooded as they come. He gets what’s going on right now.
“I feel like we’ve all been doing what we were doing in the regular season, I feel like everybody’s been performing extremely well, going out there and just playing baseball,” said Eovaldi. “I feel like it just shows we can play in any park, in any crowd, we’re able to come in and stay focused. I feel like the first game is the biggest one of the series whenever you’re on the road, we were able to come in tonight and perform and win the ballgame.”
And what did Kinsler contribute? Not much in terms of statistics, going 0-for-3, but in doing so, it was easy for Cora to pinchhit Brock Holt for Kinsler in the eighth. It was Holt who called attention to the Red Sox and video replay technicians that he had been hit by a Roberto Osuna pitch on the top of his back foot. The video proved him right, and he trotted to first base to load the bases, a prelude to Bradley’s blast.
The “new” three got the job done for the Red Sox, who continue to show up every day at every ballpark and do damage.
And now the Astros are wounded. Not dead, still dangerous but if they didn’t know before, they know now how tough it will be to play any more games at home other than the next two.
“There’s no putting around here, there’s no panic around here,” said Astros manager A.J. Hinch. “It’s just get ready for tomorrow’s game. We’ve done a really good job of being center focused on what the next situation is and we expect that out of our players.”
So will their opponents, who are ready, willing and, as they showed, quite able.