The Boston Red Sox have won Game 3 of the American League Championship Series at the Houston Astros and taken the lead in the series. Jackie Bradley Jr. once again became a hero. Meanwhile the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers delivered themselves a real crime thriller in the NLCS, which was only decided in the 13th inning.
Already at the beginning game 3 felt like a mirror image to game 1. This time the Red Sox took the lead against a weak starter Dallas Keuchel, while the Astros needed something to compensate, only to fall behind again shortly afterwards. And in the eighth inning then the bullpen imploded the landlords for the decision.
After three early hits, including a J.D. Martinez RBI double to 1-0, Keuchel only entered the first out against the fourth Red Sox hitter, Xander Bogaerts, at the expense of the second run. Then the left-hander caught himself and eliminated Steve Pearce and Eduardo Nunez without further damage.
An RBI single by Marwin Gonzalez, who started as Second Baseman instead of the knee-injured Jose Altuve – he started as Designated Hitter – brought the Astros against Nathan Eovaldi on the scoreboard. But Houston did not manage the equalizer until the fifth inning. After a 2-out walk from Altuve, Alex Bregman brought the latter home with an RBI double.
The Astros then brought relief player Joe Smith, who promptly gave a home run to Pearce – 3:2 Red Sox. As a result, the astros grit their teeth at the pitching of the guests. The decision was finally made in the eighth inning.
Houston brought Closer Roberto Osuna, who loaded the bases with two outs and then lost the run to a 2:4 hit-by-pitch against Mitch Moreland. Then Jackie Bradley Jr. beat a Grand Slam.
The bottom line was that Eovaldi pitched six innings and lost two runs on six hits. Keuchel again held out five innings (4 H, 2 ER).
In game 4 (Thursday, 2.39 live on DAZN) the Astros send Charlie Morton to the Mound, the Red Sox put on Rick Porcello.
It was not until the 13th inning that the numerous spectators who remained in the Dodger Stadium were able to cheer for good. Cody Bellinger made an RBI single and Manny Machado sprinted from second base to home plate, where he arrived just before the ball.
5:15 hours earlier, the Dodgers had been the first to score in the series. Second baseman Brian Dozier made an RBI single to 1-0 after Brewers starter Gio Gonzalez made a walk and a hit-by pitch.
Gonzalez, who only had two innings to pitch in game 1, said goodbye this time without an out in the second inning, but unplanned: Yasiel Puig struck into an infield single. The ground ball went to the pitcher and the pitcher folded while trying to use it. Gonzalez had one battery left in the game and was then replaced after a walk.
Freddy Peralta took over for him and didn’t allow a run, although he faced bases loaded by Justin Turner after a walk.
Afterwards, both offensive lines hardly came to the fore until Orlando Arcia managed a single in the fifth inning for the guests. Domingo Santana then came off the bench for the pitcher spot and equalised with an RBI double.
From the sixth to the eighth inning, both teams put their lead-off hitter on base, but there were no runs. So we went to Extra Innings.
In total both teams used 16 pitcher and emptied their benches. And until the run of Machado at the very end none of the bullpens let anything happen. The Brewers Pen’s 17 strikeouts are a new postseason record for relievers in one game.
Game 5 of the series will rise on Wednesday at 23.05 (live on DAZN). Clayton Kershaw starts for the Dodgers, Wade Miley for the Brewers.
This article was published without prior review by Major League Baseball.