The Red Sox were getting tired of being pushed around by the Astros. The trend started last October and continued into the first couple of games this series. But it all changed in satisfying fashion with a tense, 5-4 victory on Saturday night at Minute Maid Park.
After working Justin Verlander hard enough to get the superstar ace (1.24 ERA) out after six innings, the Boston bats went into attack mode in the top of the seventh.
With two outs, Christian Vazquez hammered a towering solo shot (No. 1 on the season) to left to tie the game. After Jackie Bradley Jr. walked and Andrew Benintendi strode to the plate, Brock Holt said something to manager Alex Cora.
On the fifth pitch of the at-bat, Benintendi demolished a 1-2 fastball from reliever Will Harris into the second deck in right for a two-run homer that put the Red Sox ahead, 5-3. The drive had an exit velocity of 104.6 mph and traveled a projected 417 feet, though that even seems like an underestimation.
The climb from 3-1 down started in the sixth when Xander Bogaerts worked a walk against Verlander, stole second and then scored when J.D. Martinez laced an RBI single to center. It was JD’s 50th RBI of the season already. Safe to say, at this point at least, that he has been the best signing of the offseason.
It was Martinez who drove in Boston’s other run against Verlander — his former teammate in Detroit — with an RBI single in the first, which, because of JV’s high pitch count, did not bode well for Verlander going deep into the game and taking some pressure off of the subpar(of late) bullpen.
David Price (6-4, 4.08 ERA) held up well in his duel with Verlander, allowing five hits and three runs while walking one and striking out seven to earn the win. It was the fifth straight solid start for the lefty.
Important Moment:
Could have gone with the first inning for Verlander and his high pitch count that made it impossible for him to go incredibly deep into this game. But we will go with Christian Vasquez, the catcher for the Red Sox who has struggled this season up until today. He had a 10 pitch at bat his first time up against Verlander, and then in the seventh inning, he smoked a 3-1 pitch to left field to tie the game, and create some momentum for the rest of the lineup.
Sunday Preview:
Charlie Morton, at the top of the league in ERA with a 2.26 ERA plus a 7-0 record, will face off with Rick Porcello who is 7-2 with a 3.65 ERA. The Astros are looking to win the series, while the Red Sox, with a win, would split the four game series. The two teams won’t play each other again until September up in Boston.