Red Sox Postseason: Jackie Bradley joins list of epic ALCS grand slams

Jackie Bradley drove a dagger into the Houston Astros with an 8th inning grand slam, joining a list of Boston Red Sox ALCS heroes.

Every season this century in which the Boston Red Sox have won a World Series has featured a memorable grand slam in the ALCS to vault the team into the Fall Classic. Jackie Bradley Jr. may join that legacy after providing a backbreaking blast in Game 3 against the Houston Astros.

The Red Sox held a one-run lead entering the 8th when the Astros called upon their closer. Maybe they thought they could get two innings out of Roberto Osuna or they may have felt they couldn’t wait to utilize their best reliever with the heart of Boston’s order coming up.

Osuna was probably their best available option at the time but he was hardly sharp on this occasion. He allowed two of the first four hitters he faced to reach on base hits before a slider to Brock Holt dove in a bit too much to bounce off the batter’s foot. Osuna’s unraveling continued when he plunked Mitch Moreland with a 96 mph fastball up and in to force in a run.

Bradley capped off the meltdown by crushing a grand slam deep to right field. The dagger put the Red Sox ahead 8-2, sucking the energy out of the home crowd in Houston.

The Game 3 victory put the Red Sox back in the driver’s seat. This series is far from over yet we can’t help but notice that all three trips to the World Series the Red Sox have made since 2004 wouldn’t have been possible without game-changing grand slams in the ALCS.

Boston has won three championships in the last 15 years to erase the pain of an 86-year drought. It took the curse-reversing bunch of “idiots” to break the ice in 2004, fueled by an epic comeback that ripped the hearts out of the New York Yankees in the ALCS. That doesn’t happen without the heroics of Johnny Damon.

The Red Sox had rallied from down three games to none in the series but still had to win a Game 7 in Yankee Stadium to complete the greatest comeback in postseason history. Damon wasted little time in putting the game out of reach early with a second-inning grand slam off Javier Vazquez.

He would take Vazquez deep again for a two-run shot in the fourth inning, extending Boston’s lead to 8-1. The Yankees’ spirits were crushed. Boston would cruise to a 10-3 victory and roll through a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.

Damon would later betray the Red Sox by signing a free agent deal with the Yankees following the 2005 season. While his Judas moment would sting fans every time he returned to Boston wearing pinstripes, we can never forget what Damon gave this franchise during his four years with the Red Sox.

Three years later, it was J.D. Drew‘s turn to be the hero. Drew frustrated many Red Sox fans during his tenure in Boston with his emotionless demeanor that some mistook for a lack of passion. Many felt he wasn’t living up to the expectations of the lucrative contract he signed. He was never the slugger fans believed was worthy of that salary, although that wasn’t what made Drew valuable. He was above-average in essentially every aspect of the game and had a particular knack for getting on base but Drew wasn’t the middle of the order run producer we expected.

Drew earned every cent of that contract with his grand slam against Cleveland Indians starter Roberto Hernandez (known at the time as Fausto Carmona) in Game 6 of the ALCS. The first three batters reached via single or walk to begin the first inning, followed by a strikeout and a shallow fly to right that wasn’t deep enough to score a run on a sac fly. That left it up to Drew to come through with two outs and the bases loaded. His deep drive to center field gave the Red Sox an early 4-0 lead.

Boston would go on to win that game 12-2 to force a Game 7, which they also won en route to a World Series sweep of the Colorado Rockies. The “$70 million Grand Slam” quickly changed the tune of those complaining that Drew was overpaid.

David Ortiz provided one of the most unforgettable playoff moments in franchise history in Game 2 of the 2013 ALCS. Boston trailed 5-1 in the eighth inning after being held in check by Detroit Tigers starter Max Scherzer over the first seven innings. Then two key factors turned the tide. Boston was able to get into the Tigers bullpen and Big Papi was given another chance to hit.

Detroit cycled through three relievers to get two outs while loading the bases before turning to Joaquin Benoit as their fourth pitcher of the inning to face Ortiz. The plan backfired when Ortiz sent a line drive into the Red Sox bullpen to tie the game.

The moment instantly became iconic for the image of Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter tumbling over the right field wall with his legs in the air while Boston police officer Steve Horgan stood in the bullpen with his arms raised in celebration.

The Red Sox would win the game on a walk-off base hit by Jarrod Saltalamacchia to even the series. Without the Ortiz grand slam, Boston would have been in danger of dropping into a 0-2 hole. We can never count out this franchise after what happened in ’04 but it would be a much steeper hill to climb had they dropped the first two games at home.