Catch caps true classic
Benintendi’s grab saves Red Sox win in thrilling Game 4
HOUSTON — Andrew Benintendi charged in hard and left his feet.
Make the catch, the Red Sox win.
If not no telling.
In this game, though, even a ball the Red Sox didn’t grab went their way.
Benintendi made a diving play in left field with the bases loaded for the final out, and the Red Sox held off the Astros 8-6 on Wednesday to take a 3-1 lead in the AL Championship Series.
“I thought I could catch it and timed it well,” Benintendi said. “At that point, it was do or die.”
Boosted by a questionable fan interference call and another home run from Jackie Bradley Jr. in a gripping, back-and-forth game, the Red Sox moved within one victory of their first World Series trip since winning the 2013 title.
Craig Kimbrel earned a shaky six-out save, helped by a rocket throw from right fielder Mookie Betts and Benintendi’s daring grab of Alex Bregman’s sinking liner.
Had the ball scooted past Benintendi, it easily could have scored three runs and won the game for the Astros.
“Beni took a shot. Had a great jump. And he got it,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.
With that, the Red Sox improved to 4-0 on the road in these playoffs and inched closer to eliminating the defending World Series champions.
“This game was incredibly good on both sides — great at-bats, great plays,” Astros manager AJ Hinch said.
“The difference in that game literally was a couple inches.”
Bradley hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning, his latest huge swing for a Red Sox team that got knocked out of last year’s playoffs by the Astros in the Division Series.
Astros star Jose Altuve was denied a potential two-run homer in the first inning and called out after fans reaching for the ball interfered with Betts’ attempt at a leaping catch.
“Jose pays the biggest price, because the trajectory of the ball looked like
it was going to leave the park,” Hinch said. “Changed the inning.”
The disputed call came in the bottom of the inning when umpires ruled a fan interfered with Betts as he tried to snag Altuve’s drive above the right-field wall.
“I’m 100 percent positive I was going to be able to catch that one,” Betts said. “I jumped and went over, reached my hand up, I felt like somebody was kind of pushing my glove out of the way or something.”
Crew chief Joe West, working the right-field line, signaled fan interference after the ball ricocheted back onto the field.
“The spectator reached out of the stands and hit him over the playing field and closed his glove,” West said. “That’s why I called spectator interference.”
Altuve was ruled out and Springer was sent back to first base.