*Photo from the New York Post*
Houston leads series 3-2
In games 4 and 5 of this ALCS series, the Houston Astros have unleashed their weapon. His name is Yordan Alvarez. He is in fact very good at baseball. Alvarez homered and drove in 3 runs, Jose Siri drove in two runs, and the Astros defeated the Boston Red Sox 9-1 on Wednesday night.
The two straight wins and subsequent offensive eruption from the Astros put them at a 3-2 series lead in the best of 7 ALCS, as the series shifts back to Minute Maid Park in Houston. All the Astros have to do is win one game at home, and they will punch their ticket to the world series for the 3rd time in 5 seasons.
Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel talked about how the hitting has gotten better, saying postgame that "We just needed to stay focused. We just needed to focus on the job we needed to do and just take it one game at a time."
In the second inning, Alvarez took an outside fastball and drove it over the green monster, hitting a solo home run to make it a 1-0 lead for the Astros early. It stayed that way until the 6th inning, when Alvarez hit a two run double, Gurriel hit an RBI double, and Siri whacked a two run single, with a total of 5 runs coming across to widen the lead to 6-0 Astros.
In the top of the 7th inning, Michael Brantley hit an RBI single, driving in another run to make it 7-0 Astros. In the bottom half, Rafael Devers smoked a solo home run to get the Red Sox on the board, making it a 7-1 game. In the 9th inning, Gurriel drove in two more runs with a single to center field, making it a 9-1 game and all but ending it.
Framber Valdez got his second start of the series for the Astros, and turned in one of his best starts of the season. Valdez allowed just one run on 3 hits and one walk, striking out 5 hitters across 8 fantastic innings pitched, improving to 1-0 this series with the win. It saved the bullpen, with only Ryne Stanek needing to come in, and he closed it out with a shutout 9th inning.
Valdez said of his bounce back start that "I had a really ugly outing and I felt humiliated after that first outing. I set my mind on not letting it happen again. I did everything I could, worked as hard as I possibly could to come back and have success in this outing, because I didn’t want something like that to happen again. I was dead set on turning it around."
Chris Sale got the start for Boston, and, through the first 5 innings, did exceptionally well, but things unraveled in the 6th. As such, Sale was charged with 4 runs on 3 hits and two walks, striking out 7 hitters in 5 1/3 innings. Ryan Brasier finished the 6th inning and was charged with two runs of his own. Hansel Robles, Darwinzon Hernandez, and Hirokazu Sawamura also pitched.
Red Sox DH JD Martinez was optimistic about a comeback in the series, saying that "I feel like as a team, this is our story. We've been written off all year. Nobody, I don't think anyone in here either, thought we were going to be here. We know what we're capable of, and I think no one is doubting themselves or not believing in our team that we can go out there and pull it off, you know? It's very possible."
Game 6 will take place on Friday night in Houston, with Luis Garcia in line to get the start for Houston as they look to clinch the AL Pennant. Boston will try to force a deciding game 7 with Nathan Eovaldi on the mound.
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