Red Sox try to regroup after 2nd blowout loss in a row
Mistakes combine with pitching woes to put Boston in hole
Carlos Correa knew he would turn Game 2 into another Astros rout of the Red Sox the moment he saw Addison Reed’s slider glide into the sweet spot of his bat.
The Astros had a three-run lead to start the bottom of the sixth inning. With two outs and two runners on base, Correa appeared so certain about the outcome of his hit — a base-clearing double — that he celebrated before reaching first base.
Halfway up the base path, with his legs churning and fist pounding his chest, Correa turned his upper body to face the home dugout and waved for the orange-clad fans to cheer louder.
The ball rolled to the corner. George Springer stepped on home plate and waved in Jose Altuve to score, too. Left fielder Andrew Benintendi picked up the ball, looked toward home and then second. Defeated, he lobbed the ball on a bounce to third.
Correa basked at second base in the climax of a full-throated roar inside Minute Maid Park. He evoked more than excitement over an impending victory. He spearheaded a whooping.
Boosted by their four-run sixth inning, the Astros beat the Red Sox 8-2 for a second consecutive day.
“We just got our (expletive) kicked twice,” Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. “Confidence is irrelevant at this point.”
Stretching their lead
The Astros will begin Game 3 at Fenway Park in Boston with a commanding 2-0 lead in the bestof-five series.
Although the three-run deficit to start the bottom of the sixth inning suggested the Red Sox could keep the score close, the Astros appeared firmly in control all game. The contest became a laugher when the Red Sox’s costly mistakes turned calamitous, and the Astros’ clutch hits reached a critical mass.
Lefthanded pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez allowed a single to Marwin Gonzalez and hit Brian McCann on the right hand with a pitch.
Then Reed came in and got two outs. After a fielder’s-choice groundout left Gonzalez and Springer on the corners, Alex Bregmen flew out to Mookie Betts in shallow right field.
Betts secured the catch, but the ball slipped out of his hand as cocked his arm back for a throw.
“Just straight up dropped it,” Betts said. “I’m looking to throw it home. I don’t think it was the transfer. I lost it behind my head.” The gaffe let Gonzalez score. The Astros’ “momentum unfolded” after that, Betts said.
The Red Sox intentionally walked Altuve for the second time, which put Altuve and Springer on base for Correa.
“Obviously with how hot Altuve’s been, we put him on,” Reed said.
Said Correa: “I came to the ballpark mentally prepared for that situation. In an important situation, he was going to get walked.”
Apparently Correa was heating up, too. He had hit a home run in the first. The Red Sox had successfully walked Altuve and gotten Correa to pop up in the fourth.
“One of the dangers in our lineup is you got to pick which guy to go after, and sometimes you’re right, sometimes you’re not,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “(Sometimes) the pressure’s on their own pitcher. That leaves him no room for error, and Carlos made him pay the second time.”
Correa doubled off Reed’s first pitch. He finished with four RBIs.
“I made a stupid pitch to Correa,” said Reed, who aimed the slider lower. “Not belt-high.”
Evan Gattis extended the two-out surge by driving in Correa with a single off Reed’s next pitch.
“And just another stupid pitch to Gattis,” Reed said.
Problematic performances
Relievers have not diminished the Red Sox’s chances so much as their starters. Chris Sale was charged for seven runs in Game 1, and Drew Pomeranz surrendered four in two-plus innings of Game 2.
“We have got to do a little bit more consistent job,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “Bottom line. There’s many ways that they can score runs on one swing of the bat from a number of guys.”
After two lopsided games, Farrell made it sound like the Astros will pose a threat to win the series in every at-bat they will have in Game 3.
“I’m sure we’ll have a team meeting,” Betts said. “Just to understand that panicking makes everything worse. We’ve got to play loose.”