Breaking out the bats
After sale yields 5 in 1st, red sox’ offense erupts for 5 Hrs to tie series
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — J.D. Martinez hit a tiebreaking three-run home run in his return to the lineup, and the Red Sox backed Tanner Houck’s clutch relief effort with a franchise postseasonrecord five homers to beat the Rays 14-6 on Friday and even their American League Division Series at a game each.
Kike Hernandez had five of the Red Sox’ 20 hits, including a homer and three doubles, becoming the first player in franchise history with four extra-base hits in a postseason game.
Xander Bogaerts, Alex Verdugo and Rafael Devers also homered for the Red Sox, who rallied for a blowout victory after starter Chris Sale allowed a first-inning grand slam to Jordan Luplow and was pulled just three outs into the game.
Hernandez’s leadoff homer in the fifth against Collin McHugh tied the score before Martinez went deep against Matt Wisler four batters later.
Houck kept the Red Sox in the game after Sale was rocked for five runs in the first. The rookie right-hander came out of the bullpen to start the second and allowed one run and two hits in five innings, retiring his first 11 batters before yielding a two-out single to Wander Franco in the fifth.
Ji-Man Choi entered as a defensive replacement for Luplow and had the only other hit against Houck, a solo homer in the sixth. Houck struck out five.
Martinez had four hits after missing the AL wild-card victory Tuesday against the Yankees and Game 1 of the ALDS on Thursday with a sprained left ankle. He was injured stumbling over second base while heading to the outfield in the regularseason finale Sunday.
‘‘It felt all right hitting,’’ Martinez said. “It didn’t feel good running, but it felt all right hitting.’’
Bogaerts, Verdugo and Hernandez hit solo shots to steady the staggering Red Sox, who lost the series opener 5-0. Martinez then delivered the lead.
Devers’ two-run homer against Michael Wacha hiked the Red Sox’ advantage to 11-6 in the eighth. Christian Vazquez had an RBI infield single in the ninth, which Hernandez followed with a two-run single. Bogaerts, Verdugo and Vazquez had three hits each.
Verdugo also stole an out in left field, leaning over the short wall in foul territory to catch a pop fly by Nelson Cruz in the sixth.
A night after Randy Arozarena became the first player in major-league history to hit a homer and steal home in a playoff game, the Rays got off to another fast start that whipped the crowd of 37,616 into a frenzy.
Rays rookie Shane Baz became the second pitcher in big-league history to start a playoff game with three or fewer career regular-season appearances. Matt Moore was the other, doing it with the Rays in Game 1 of the 2011 ALDS against the Rangers.
In using Baz and Game 1 winner Shane McClanahan to begin the series, the Rays joined the Athletics as the only teams to start rookie pitchers in the first two games of a playoff series. The A’s began the 2012 ALDS against the Tigers with Jarrod Parker and Tommy Milone.