*Photo from the Los Angeles Times*
Series tied 2-2
Everything was going quite well in game 4 for the Boston Red Sox. Until, well, the Houston Astros decided to wake up. Then it was not going so well. Jose Altuve homered, Michael Brantley drove in 3 runs, and the Astros shocked the Red Sox with a 9-2 win in game 4 on Tuesday night.
The win by Houston knots the best of 7 ALCS at a 2-2 tie, with one more game to be played at Fenway Park in Boston, and at least one more game will be played in Houston. Whether or not it goes to a decisive game 7 remains to be seen. But, the Astros did ensure that at least one more game will be played at their home confines at Minute Maid Park.
Altuve said of the offense that "I’m very happy that I could score with a homer right there and what we did in the ninth inning was amazing. Jason had a really good at-bat. It’s not easy to come off the bench and get two really good at-bats the way he did, and I’m just happy we won today."
In the first inning, Alex Bregman gave the Astros a 1-0 lead with a solo home run to left field. In the bottom of the first, Xander Bogaerts gave the Boston response, with a two run home run that cleared everything on top of the green monster. It stayed 2-1 until the 8th inning, when Altuve hit a first pitch solo home run that got out in a hurry, tying the game 2-2.
Then came the 9th inning. Down to his last strike, Jason Castro delivered a go ahead RBI single to give the Astros a 3-2 lead. With the bases loaded, Brantley doubled to the right center field gap, scoring all 3 runs to make it a 6-2 ballgame. Brantley then scored on an RBI single from Yordan Alvarez to make it 7-2. RBI singles from Carlos Correa and Kyle Tucker then made it 9-2. All of this came with two outs.
Kendall Graveman got the win in relief for the Astros, pitching two scoreless innings in the 7th and 8th innings. It helped pick up starter Zack Greinke, who, like so many Astros pitchers, did not last long into the game, pitching just 1 1/3 innings while allowing two runs. The bullpen combination of Brooks Raley, Cristian Javier, Phil Maton, Graveman, and Pressly held the Red Sox scoreless from there.
Astros manager Dusty Baker said "I'm just glad that we didn't quit. What a job our bullpen did. Greinke just gave up that one hit, and it was 2-1 for a long time. And then Javier, the job that he did, that was a great job. He just ran it. We took him as far as we could. He ran out of gas there and went to Graveman. You know, a great job by Raley. Just a great job overall by the whole team."
On the Red Sox side, Nathan Eovaldi was used in relief in the 9th, and he got the loss, giving up 4 of the 7 runs scored by Houston that inning. Martin Perez, used after Eovaldi was lifted, didn't fare any better, giving up 3 runs while also adding a throwing error. It ruined a strong start by Nick Pivetta, who allowed just one run on two hits and two walks across 5 innings. Josh Taylor, Adam Ottavino, and Garrett Whitlock also pitched.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of the loss that "There's not much to say in that clubhouse. We know where we're at. They have a good team. We were one pitch away from ending that inning and it didn't happen, and then they scored seven. Just like every day, you win, you turn the page. You lose, you turn the page and be ready."
Game 5 of the series is on Wednesday afternoon in Boston, with game one starter Framber Valdez taking the mound for Houston, opposed by Boston's game one starter Chris Sale.
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