Red Sox 2017 Postseason: 5 keys to ALDS Game 3 win

Sticking with Sandy

Many were surprised to see Sandy Leon‘s name in the lineup for Game 3. Boston struggled to score runs in the two games in Houston, so starting a backup catcher who hit .225 this season seemed counter-productive.

Christian Vazquez finished the year strong and established himself as a lock to start every game at Fenway Park, where he hit .348 with a .905 OPS this season. With the series shifting back to Boston it was assumed Vazquez would be the catcher behind the plate.

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Farrell cited Leon’s rapport with Doug Fister as the reason for putting him in the lineup. It’s one thing to let Leon catch every game for ace Chris Sale but does a pitcher scooped up off the scrap heap to fill the No. 5 spot in the rotation really need a personal catcher? The decision seemed to backfire when Fister couldn’t make it out of the second inning.

While Leon wasn’t in the lineup for his bat, he ultimately ended up doing his part to come through. He was 2-for-4 with an RBI, matching his production from Game 1. Hey, 2016 Sandy is back!

Leon’s base hit to center in the second inning drove in Mitch Moreland to put the Red Sox on the board. That would prove to be the only run Boston would score in a frame that began with them loading the bases with nobody out. As disappointing as it was to see the lineup squander the chance for a big inning, Leon ensured that they would get something out of it.

Devers goes deep

Remember when Farrell benched third baseman Rafael Devers in favor of light-hitting utility infielder Deven Marrero in Game 2? It was questionable at the time why one of the best power hitters on the team would sit in a game where the Red Sox would need to score runs to keep up with the league’s highest scoring offense. It looks utterly foolish now.

Farrell cited Marrero’s success against left-handed pitching when defending his decision, while ignoring that Devers hit .400 with a 1.074 OPS against lefties this season.

This time the manager stuck with Devers when the Astros called for lefty Francisco Liriano out of the bullpen in the third inning of Game 3 and the rookie reminded us of the damage he can do against left-handed pitching. Liriano hung a slider on the second pitch of the at-bat that Devers crushed 430 feet into the right center field seats.

The 20-year old Devers became the youngest Red Sox player to hit a home run in the postseason. He also joined some impressive company in MLB history.

The two-run blast gave the Red Sox their first lead of the series. Up to that point we wondered if this team would spend the entire series trailing but the Devers homer opened the floodgates for an offense running on renewed confidence.

Betts saves a homer

Trailing by three runs early in the game, the last thing the Red Sox needed was to allow the Astros to double their lead. A six run deficit in an elimination game may have put Boston away and it almost happened in the second inning.

Mookie Betts wasn’t about to let it happen.

Joe Kelly entered the game with one out in the second inning, inheriting a pair of runners from starter Doug Fister. Kelly retired George Springer by getting him to ground out to the shortstop but he still had to get through Josh Reddick to escape the jam.

Reddick ran the count full as Kelly struggled to put him away with upper 90’s heat. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Reddick hammered a slider that seemed destined to fall into the right field seats. Betts raced back to the wall, reaching over into the stands to make the home-run robbing catch.

Instead of facing a seemingly insurmountable lead, Betts ensured the deficit remained manageable enough to set up a comeback.

Amazing defensive plays are nothing new for Betts, who led all major league outfielders with 31 defensive runs saved. While postseason results don’t factor into season awards, this catch is a reminder of why Betts deserves to win his second consecutive Gold Glove Award in right field.

Hanley heating up

There are few hitters in the game more dangerous than Hanley Ramirez when he gets locked in at the plate. We didn’t see nearly enough of that version of Ramirez this year but he picked a great time to start heating up.

Ramirez went 4-for-4 with three RBI in Game 3.

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A base hit in the third inning drove in Moreland for Boston’s second run of the game and put him on base for the Devers home run that would put them ahead.

The final score may suggest the Red Sox ran away with this game but as late as the seventh inning they were still desperate for some insurance runs while clinging to a one-run lead. Ramirez delivered with a two-run double to make it a 6-3 game. Boston would tack on four more runs in the inning but it was the clutch double by Ramirez that ignited that big inning to put the game away.

The series began with Ramirez on the bench, getting an opportunity to rejoin the lineup only after Eduardo Nunez re-aggravated his knee. Any angry Hanley is a dangerous Hanley and it seems the benching may have awakened his bat. Ramirez is 6-for-10 with a pair of doubles and three RBI in this series.

Postseason Price

As encouraging as it was to see the offense get going, the hero of this game came out of Boston’s bullpen.

Fister became the latest starter to put the Red Sox into a hole in this series. The right-hander failed to make it out of the second inning, leaving the rest up to the bullpen. Boston’s relievers were up to the challenge, keeping Houston scoreless over the final 7 2/3 innings.

The star of that bullpen effort was David Price, who tossed four shutout innings. He allowed four hits, a walk and struck out four.

Price’s four innings of relief are the most by a Red Sox pitcher in the postseason since Pedro Martinez delivered six shutout innings out of the bullpen in the 1999 ALDS against the Cleveland Indians.

The much-maligned track record of Price in the postseason has been the ire of Red Sox fans since the ink dried on his $217 million contract. While critics will continue to harp on the fact that Price hasn’t won a postseason game as a starter, he’s quieting the noise by thriving in his current role in the bullpen. Price has tossed 6 2/3 innings of relief in this series, serving as Boston’s version of Andrew Miller, a shutdown weapon out of the bullpen that has become essential to win in the postseason in this era.

Boston ended up cruising to a win after the lineup exploded in the bottom of the seventh inning but it was still a one-run game throughout the four innings that Price worked. Those were high-stress innings with the game on the line and Price proved up for the challenge.

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The Red Sox got plenty of help from their offense and defense but they don’t win this game without Price shutting down the Astros for four innings.