New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Red Sox flex muscles, even series
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — J.D. Martinez hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in his return to the lineup and the Boston Red Sox backed Tanner Houck’s clutch relief effort with a franchise postseason record five home runs, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 14-6 Friday night to even their AL Division Series at a game each.
Kike Hernandez had five of Boston’s 20 hits, including a homer and three doubles, becoming Boston’s first player with four extrabase hits in a postseason game.
Xander Bogaerts, Alex Verdugo and Rafael Devers also connected for the Red Sox, who rallied for a blowout win after ace Chris Sale allowed a first-inning grand slam to Jordan Luplow and was pulled following just three outs.
Hernandez’s leadoff homer in the fifth off Collin McHugh tied it before Martinez went deep against Matt Wisler (0-1) four batters later.
Houck (1-0) kept Boston in the game after Sale was rocked for five runs in the first inning. The rookie right-hander came out of the bullpen to start the second inning and allowed one run and two hits over five frames, 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 off Houck, a twoout solo homer in the sixth. Houck struck out five.
Martinez had four hits after missing Tuesday night’s wild-card victory over the New York Yankees and Game 1 of the ALDS with a sprained left ankle. He was injured stumbling over second base while heading to the outfield during last weekend’s regular-season finale at Washington.
Bogaerts, Verdugo and Hernandez had solo shots to steady the staggering
Red Sox, who lost the opener 5-0 Thursday night. Martinez then delivered the lead.
Devers’ two-run homer off Michael Wacha hiked Boston’s 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.
The Rays hadn’t allowed 14 runs in a game since Boston beat them 20-6 on Aug. 11.
Verdugo also stole an out in left field, leaning over the short wall in foul territory in the sixth inning to catch Nelson Cruz’s popup.
A night after Randy Arozarena became the first player in major league history to homer and steal home in a postseason game, the Rays got off to another fast start that whipped a yellow towel-waving crowd of 37,616 — up from 27,419 for Game 1 — into a frenzy.
Rays rookie left 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 at Texas.
In using Baz and Game 1 winner Shane McClanahan to begin the series, AL East-winning Tampa Bay joined Oakland as the only teams to start rookie pitchers in the first two games of a playoff series. The Athletics began the 2012 ALDS at Detroit with Jarrod Parker and Tommy Milone.
Boston, meanwhile, has only gotten 2 1⁄3 innings combined out of its starting pitchers through two games. Sale, who returned from Tommy John surgery in August to make nine starts down the stretch, was pulled after giving up five runs and four hits in the first inning. That followed an abbreviated outing by Eduardo Rodriguez on Thursday.
Luplow’s grand slam was the sixth homer Sale has allowed 26 career postseason innings.
Nathan Eovaldi will start Game 3 for Boston. He allowed one run and four hits over 5 1⁄3 innings of Boston’s wild-card win over the Yankees. The righthander is 2-1 with a 1.63 ERA in seven career postseason appearances, including three starts.
Rays manager Kevin Cash hasn’t announced a starter for Sunday. He could go with right-hander Drew Rasmussen or opt for a bullpen day.
ASTROS 9, WHITE SOX 4
HOUSTON — Carlos Correa hit a two-run double during Houston’s five-run seventh inning, and the Astros beat Chicago for a 2-0 lead in their AL Division Series.
Kyle Tucker homered and drove in three runs as the Astros moved within one win of their fifth straight appearance in the AL Championship Series. Alex Bregman had two hits and scored twice, and Jose Altuve made a couple of big plays.
Game 3 of the best-of-five series is Sunday night in Chicago.
The Astros grabbed the lead for good on Yordan Alvarez’s tiebreaking RBI single off Aaron Bummer (0-1) with one out in the seventh. Craig Kimbrel then took over and retired Yuli Gurriel before Correa’s drive to right sailed just past a sprinting Leury Garcia.
BREWERS 2, BRAVES 1
MILWAUKEE — Rowdy Tellez spoiled Charlie Morton’s gem with a two-run homer in the seventh inning and threw out a runner at home plate, leading Milwaukee over Atlanta in the opener of their NL Division Series.
Corbin Burnes, Adrian Houser and Josh Hader combined on a four-hitter that gave Milwaukee the early lead in this best-offive series. Game 2 is Saturday in Milwaukee.
Former Brewer Orlando Arcia grounded to second with runners on the corners to end the game. That came after Brewers catcher Omar Narvaez — who combined with first baseman Tellez on a key first-inning double play — blocked Hader’s 1-2 pitch in the dirt to keep Freddie Freeman at third base.