The Boston Red Sox avoided a sweep at the hands of the Houston Astros with a Game 3 win to stay alive in the 2017 MLB postseason.
Put your brooms away, Houston. The Boston Red Sox took Game 3 of the American League Division Series, avoiding the fate suffered last year when they were swept out of the first-round of the postseason.
It appeared that the Red Sox would be doomed early on after starter Doug Fister was tagged for three runs in the first inning. Poor performances from Boston’s starting rotation has become a theme for this series but for once the rest of the team managed to show some fight in a thrilling comeback that energized a raucous Fenway crowd.
After being held to a total of four runs through the first two games of this series, Boston’s lineup exploded for 10 runs on 15 hits.
A first-round sweep for the second consecutive year would have spelled trouble for manager John Farrell‘s job security. The Red Sox were never favored to win this series but they couldn’t afford to go down without a fight. They finally showed signs of life in Game 3, perhaps providing the spark this team needs to make this series interesting.
There were many great performances in this statement victory but let’s take a look at the five keys that led to a Game 3 win.