#RedSox Game Summary (October 24) Another Great Price

David Price turned in another stellar performance to gain this win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Once again, the Sox struck first, this time in the second inning. Xander Bogaerts doubled off LA starter Hyun-Jin Ryu, and scored on a single by Ian Kinsler. The Dodgers struck back in the 4th when David Freese singled off Price, got to 2nd on Manny Machado’s single, reached 3rd when David walked Chris Taylor to load the bases, then scored on a Matt Kemp sac fly. Yasiel Puig then drove in Manny Machado with a single. Boston’s big inning was the 5th, when Christian Vázquez singled with 2 out, Mookie Betts also singled, Andrew Benintendi walked, and reliever Ryan Madsen came in and walked Steve Pearce to force in a run. JD Martinez then singled in 2 runs to seal the deal. Joe Kelly, Nathan Eovaldi and Craig Kimbrel (who got the save) were sterling in relief. The Red Sox did what they needed to do: win at home. Boston beat Los Angeles, 4-2, at Fenway Park. Boston leads the World Series, 2-0.

#RedSox Game Summary (October 23) A Fast Start

Boston jumped on LA Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw early, and that may have made all the difference in this one. Chris Sale started for the Red Sox, and kept LA under control through 4 innings, not enough to take credit for the win, but vital nonetheless. The bullpen took it from there. Mookie Betts led off the game with a single, stole 2nd, and scored on an Andrew Benintendi single; Benny reached 2nd on the throw (a close play that was decided by review). Benny subsequently scored on a single by JD Martinez. In the 4th, Martinez doubled in another run. In the 5th, Betts walked, and scored on a force play. The Dodgers kept battling back. Matt Kemp hit a solo dinger off Sale in the 2nd inning. In the 3rd, a series of singles by Justin Turner, David Freese, and Manny Machado resulted in another run. Brian Dozier walked in the 5th, reached 2nd on a single by Justin Turner, got to 3rd on a wild pitch by Matt Barnes, and scored on a fielder’s choice. That tied the score at 3. Max Muncie singled off Ryan Brazier in the 7th, got to 2nd on a Turner single, reached 3rd when Brazier walked Yasmani Grandal to load the bases, and scored on a sac fly. That brought LA within 1 at 5-4. But it was all for naught as, in the bottom of the inning, Benny hit an odd ground-rule double that could have been caught, but struck just inside the foul line beyond 3rd base and bounced into the stands. JD was intentionally walked, and on came righty Eduardo Núñez in place of Rafael Devers to face lefty pitcher Alex Wood. He reached down and lifted a pitch from about 2 inches off the ground, and launched it into the Monster seats for a 3 run bomb that sealed the game. So, the all important first game is in the books. Boston beat Los Angeles, 8-4. Boston leads the World Series, 1-0.

#RedSox Game Summary (October 16) Small Ball and Big Bang

There is some debate among baseball analysts regarding the most effective strategy for victory: small ball, involving singles, walks, moving the runner over, and scoring opportunistically, or the big bang of an elevated swing that produces home runs and multiple base hits. In this game, the Red Sox said most emphatically, “why not both?” The Red Sox scored first, in the first inning, when Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi singled off Houston Astros starter Dallas Keuchel, both scoring on a JD Martinez double. The ‘Stros came back with one of their own in the bottom of the inning when José Altuvé singled off Boston starter Nathan Eovaldi, and after Alex Bregman also singled, and a force play moved him to 3rd, scored on a single by Marwin Gonzalez. Notably, an awkward move by Eduardo Núñez produced enough hesitation to miss a double play, which would have prevented the score. In the 5th, Altúvé singled, and scored on an Alex Bregman double to tie the score at 2. Here again, a fielding move by Núñez may have made the double possible; he charged a bounding ball instead of letting it come to him, and when it took an awkward short hop, tried to backhand it, causing it to skip off his glove into left field. Steve Pearce made it all right, though with a solo blast off reliever Joe Smith in the 6th. In the 8th, after Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers singled, Astros reliever Roberto Osuna hit Brock Holt on the foot to load the bases, then hit pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland to force in a run. At this point, Jackie Bradley, Jr. decided to erase all doubt regarding the outcome of this game by crushing a grand slam into the stands in right center. Eovaldi looked really good in this one, giving up 2 runs over 6 innings on 6 hits and 2 walks, while punching out 4. Ryan Brasier, Matt Barnes, Joe Kelly, and Eduardo Rodriguez were all effective in relief. The Red Sox also burned through a lot of the Astros bullpen, which may make Houston more vulnerable in Game 4. Boston beat Houston, 8-2, at Minute Maid Park. Boston leads the ALCS, 2-1.

#RedSox ALDS Game 1 Summary (October 4) Closeout Sale

#RedSox ALDS Game 1 Summary (October 5) Closeout Sale. Chris Sale appears to have nothing left in the tank, having declined steadily in effectiveness since August, and in the all important first game of this series, he got clobbered for 9 hits, including 3 home runs and 2 doubles and was ultimately responsible for 7 runs over 5+ innings. Although he did strike out 6 Astros, he was in trouble in every inning. The homers included one by Alex Bregman and two by Josė Altuve, who ultimately hit 3 (his third was off Austin Maddox in the 7th) to join an elite list of just 9 players who hit 3 homers in a single postseason game in MLB history. Evan Gattis and Marwin González doubled for Houston. On the other side, Astros starter Justin Verlander was dominant, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits a 2 walks over 6 innings, while fanning 3. The first Red Sox run came in the 2nd, when Sandy León singled with 2 on and 2 out, and Mitch Moreland scored from 2nd just as Dustin Pedroia was tagged out trying to go from first to third. The play was so close it had to be decided by replay. In the 4th, Mookie Betts double, reached 3rd on a Moreland single, and scored on a Rafael Devers sac fly. Hanley Ramírez also doubled, but did not score. In addition to Sales’s disappointing start, Sox fans got other bad news in this game, when Eduardo Núñez collapsed while running to first; an apparent result of a reaggravation of the knee injury that has kept him sidelined for weeks. He will probably miss the rest of the series and, if Boston advances, may be unavailable after that. The boys are going to have reach for something special to climb out of this hole. Houston beat Boston, 8-2, at Minute Maid Park. Houston leads the series, 1-0.