They were playing for a ring, and there was little choice but to take them seriously as contenders. The Astros advanced to the World Series. The Red Sox were sent home with work to do.
But these Red Sox were never meant to be a finished product. Manager Alex Cora was able to meet with his team at the end of a deep playoff run, and tell them he was proud of them. Read Chad Jennings' full story here. Overachievers who could have done more: Surprise Red Sox postseason run comes to an end.
After Alex Bregman singled to left field with two outs in the first, Alvarez crushed a Nathan Eovaldi curveball to center field for a double to drive in the initial run. Alvarez continued his success at the plate with a triple to start the sixth inning. Then, following Carlos Correa being hit by a pitch, Kyle Tucker grounded into a double play that sent Alvarez home. The Astros came up with a dastardly plan to lessen the scorn they rightfully deserved after their cheating schemes were unearthed, and that was to hire the coolest manager in baseball.
Another division title? All they care about is earning a ring that no one can ever dismiss. Kyle Tucker just put this one out of reach, in all probability, with an opposite-field 3-run homer. I'm still not quite sure why Tanner Houck was allowed to start the eighth inning, but Adam Ottavino knew that the center-cut fastball he threw to Tucker was probably a season-ending mistake.
KTuck30 provides the insurance! Alvarez smoked a single up the middle. Considering his amazing power, the Red Sox were lucky to get out of that situation with runners on first and second.
Houck was pulled after allowing that hit to Alvarez, by the way. The year-old designated hitter is for in the series after his fourth hit tonight. Do we have a siren or a bat signal or something for whenever a corner infielder plays second base for the first time ever, and does it in a must-win playoff game? Every time Fox shows a close-up view of Alex Verdugo, you can almost feel his pain.
He didn't get a large enough lead to go on that pitch before Maldonado threw him out trying to steal, and it's wearing on him. The relaxed Red Sox with their home-run laundry cart have been replaced by a group that appears extremely tight as they try to keep their season alive, now down to their final three outs. Ryne Stanek almost struck out Kyle Schwarber a few times before getting one of the better postseason hitters of this era to pop out to second. This game has been more about the Astros pitching insanely well than the Red Sox not hitting like they usually do.
Tanner Houck looked much better in a seventh inning than he did in the sixth. If Boston's season ends tonight, none of the blame will fall on the pitching staff. Steve Berman: Kendall Graveman gets out of it with a strike-him-out, throw-him-out double-play. What a throw by Maldonado to get Verdugo at second. The Astros take a lead on a wild play, as Kyle Tucker's sharp grounder went right to Kyle Schwarber at first. Schwarber spun around and tagged Carlos Correa, who was still right by the bag, then stepped on first base to complete the double play.
But Alvarez, who isn't necessarily known for his baserunning, went on contact and scored a huge run. Then Schwarber followed that with a fantastic scoop on an errant throw from second baseman Christian Arroyo. In a game like this, giving up a run seems like a worst-case scenario.
But the Red Sox shouldn't feel too badly about the outcome. Tanner Houck was missing arm-side from the moment he entered the game, including a pitch that appeared to take a chunk of flesh out of Correa's elbow. With runners on first and third with no one out and Houck missing location with most of his pitches, Boston was lucky to escape the inning with a two-run deficit.
Yordan Alvarez just hit a mammoth foul ball that ricocheted off one of the steel girders just below the roof at Minute Maid Park. As the A's beat writer, I couldn't help but be reminded of a ball that Khris Davis crushed that bounced off one of those girders and fell into Alvarez's glove for an out in the last series of the regular season A's manager Bob Melvin was furious afterward, because he thought it would've easily been a home run.
A few pitches later, Alvarez rifled one down the right-field line for a triple. It says here we're going seven games. Batting Around: How many teams should make postseason? Mariners top prospects for R. Watch Now:. Red Sox Dayn Perry 1 min read. Jon Lester retires; is he a Hall of Famer?
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