Red Sox Postseason: Five players who need to step up in ALCS

These five players need to step up if the Boston Red Sox have any hope of dethroning the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series.

The Boston Red Sox have made it out of the first round of the postseason for the first time since 2013 when they won their last World Series. Now the reigning champion Houston Astros stand in their path to a title. It’s a tall task that will only be possible with contributions from every member of the roster. That means a few players who underwhelmed in the ALDS against the New York Yankees need to step up.

This series is a rematch of last year’s ALDS, won convincingly by the Astros three games to one. Houston outscored Boston 24-18, a gap that undersells how dominant the Astros were.

Both teams have since upgraded for another postseason encounter where the stakes have been raised. The Red Sox added slugger J.D. Martinez to anchor the best lineup in baseball while the Astros added Gerrit Cole to solidify the league’s best pitching staff. Both players exceeded expectations to help fuel their respective teams to the postseason and they each performed well in the ALDS.

However, not everyone is off to a great start this postseason. The Red Sox managed to advance despite the struggles of a few key players but they will need more out of these five in order to move on to the World Series.